United target rated highly by Rooney

Wayne Rooney has given his seal of approval to potential Manchester United target Juan Roman Riquelme.

The Argentine star has been linked with an £8m summer move to Old Trafford from surprise Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal.

Riquelme has already indicated his admiration for the Red Devils and believes in the likes of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, they have a great future in store.

And, if Sir Alex Ferguson does try to lure the 24-year-old from La Liga, he will receive a warm welcome from Rooney, despite last night’s costly penalty miss against Arsenal.

For, although injury prevented the midfielder appearing in either of the two Champions League meetings with United this season, he was in the Argentina team beaten by England in Switzerland last November.

And, although he ended up on the winning side that night, Rooney could not help but notice Riquelme’s outstanding talent.

“Juan Roman Riquelme is quite a special player,” said the United striker.

“When we played against Argentina he was brilliant. I remember at half-time everyone saying no-one could get near him.”

Ferguson is targeting at least one, and probably two, midfield recruits as he looks to ensure United mount a more sustained title challenge next season.

Although mathematically it is still possible for the Red Devils to regain the title this term, the odds against them doing so are massive and a single point from their meeting with Ferguson’s side at Stamford Bridge on Saturday will see Chelsea remain kings of the Premier League.

Rooney has admitted he would be devastated to become a by-stander at another Chelsea celebration party, although he retains plenty of faith in Ferguson to drive the Old Trafford outfit back to the top.

“Sir Alex Ferguson was very important in my decision to join United,” confirmed Rooney.

“He has worked with a lot of young players and always got the best out of them and I wanted him to do the same with me.

“In that sense, he is everything I expected him to be.

“I used to watch him on TV and think he looked like a very fierce man. That is exactly what he is. He is passionate about his football and loves to win.”

The same could also be said of Rooney, which is why he is determined next season to start adding to a medal collection which so far consists of a single League Cup gong.

“On Saturday, we want to lay down a marker for next season,” he said.

“Over the last four or five months we have played really well and I am sure we can continue that.

“We need to start better than we did this year and then, hopefully, it will be a lot closer.”