He’s shades of Rooney: Man Utd ready to make move ASAP to sign £100m+ sensation

As Wayne Rooney took the trip to Carrington to visit former teammate, and new permanent Manchester United boss, Michael Carrick, it felt like only yesterday that the pair were helping Sir Alex Ferguson to dominate English football. How time flies.

Yes, it was 22 years ago that a teenage Rooney made the move to Old Trafford, United winning an intense battle for the Everton sensation following a breakout tournament at Euro 2004.

Every elite club in the Premier League, and likely in Europe, wanted a piece of the 18-year-old wonderkid, but he ultimately proved Manchester-bound, going on to depart 13 years later as the club’s all-time top scorer.

Back in the present day, United are also attempting to win the race for another potential England star in the making.

Man Utd readying another move to sign £100m+ talent

It’s already proving an intriguing summer for Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup crop, with Anthony Gordon joining Barcelona in a surprise deal that could have repercussions for Marcus Rashford’s own future at Camp Nou.

Three Lions teammate, Morgan Rogers, is also attracting significant interest from the likes of Arsenal and United following another stellar season at Aston Villa, the 23-year-old potentially set to be Tuchel’s go-to man ahead of Jude Bellingham in the States.

Perhaps the most intense transfer tug-of-war is likely to centre on another man set to start this summer, Elliot Anderson, with the Red Devils and Manchester City currently the two sides vying for his signature.

As revealed by journalist Peter Hall, it is City who are considered to be the frontrunners as things stand, while Anderson – who could fetch upwards of £100m – is said to be keen on the move.

That being said, Hall does suggest that INEOS aren’t out of the picture just yet, with the Old Trafford side still set to make a ‘serious play’ for the 23-year-old.

Considering that Man City’s deal is considered to be ‘well advanced’, as per Hall’s prior report, that would suggest that the Red Devils will need to move with a matter of urgency, particularly with the World Cup looming.

Why Anderson could be a Rooney-style signing for Man Utd

Rooney, while a mere teenager, took Euro 2004 by storm, with that summer truly the moment he announced himself to the wider world, even if his talent wasn’t already evident to Premier League audiences beforehand.

Anderson, at 23, hasn’t exactly exploded onto the scene in the same way, although like his compatriot, this summer’s major tournament could also be the stage where he takes his game to a new level, after two fine seasons at Nottingham Forest.

Sold on, rather bizarrely, by Newcastle United in the summer of 2024, the Geordie playmaker wasn’t even a consideration for his country at that stage. Now, he’s set to be Declan Rice’s starting partner at the World Cup.

What a rise it’s been, with the midfielder’s undoubted talent having been obvious on what looked like something of an Old Trafford audition earlier this month, having notched two delightful assists in Forest’s 3-2 loss to Carrick’s men.

He has that ‘best kid in the playground’ vibe to his game, much like Rooney before him, someone who can do it all from one box to another.

Indeed, former Bristol Rovers teammate Glenn Whelan spoke glowingly of Anderson’s ability to “grab games by the scruff of the neck”, while also hailing him as a “throwback” figure, in the mould of a certain Paul Gascoigne:

Rooney, affectionately dubbed ‘Wazza’ in his youth, knows all about such comparisons, with that likeness again highlighting just why Anderson is such an attractive target.

Like Rooney too, there’s almost a sense that he could be deployed anywhere on the pitch and he’d still thrive, having operated as a number six, a number eight or even a number ten at the City Ground, while also lining up on the wing during his time on loan in Bristol.

As he showed against United only recently, the former Magpies star boasts such a delightful passing range, again akin to Rooney, while there’s also the steel to match the silk, finishing the season ranked fourth in the division for total tackles made.

He’s not afraid to put his foot in, yet has the end product to go with it, possessing an almost street footballer style to his game.

And so, over two decades on from plucking Rooney from Everton, at a time when it felt like the youngster had outgrown the Toffees, United may still have hope of securing a similar deal for Anderson this time around.