Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Shanghai SIPG coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he doesn’t have any plans to try and sign Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney.
The 31-year-old has slowly fallen out of favour with United manager Jose Mourinho for his lack of impact in the Premier League this season, and has found himself on the bench in recent games.
With Rooney no longer an automatic starter, he has been linked with a move to his boyhood club Everton, along with the Chinese Super League and Major League Soccer in the United States.
"Everyone knows how much I admire Rooney. That's one thing," Eriksson told The Sun.
"To make out we are going to sign him is something else. There is absolutely nothing in it, zero.
"It is not something we have ever even spoken about at the club - and we have been discussing our options for next season a lot."
Eriksson worked closely with Rooney during his time as England manager, and while he had nothing but high praise for the player, he admitted that it wouldn’t make sense to bring Rooney to Shanghai SIPG as the club already have too many forwards.
"I have always known Rooney as a forward - one of the best I have worked with," Eriksson said. "But we already have Hulk, Elkeson and Dario Conca, who are all very good, as our forwards.
"He [Rooney] is still a very good player with a lot of quality. I'm sure he could come to China in the future. He is the type of player the league will be after."
Meanwhile, United will shift their focus to the Europa League on Thursday with an away clash against Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
Kick-off is at 20:00.
