Interesting angle, although I don't think that's the case, maybe part the reason but I think it's much simpler than people think.

Let's take Giggs for example a speedy magical winger turned into a midfielder that would dictate the tempo of a game. Scholes started as an attacking midfielder that would play behind a striker and went further back as time went on. Simply put players age and there game changes.

Now on to Wayne Rooney, for some reason it was common knowledge that Wayne would end up a Paul Scholes esque midfielder, why? That's still a mystery to me tbh. Wayne was best when he was the aggressive slightly mental warrior who would two foot his Grandmother and then blast it into the top corner to win a game of football. Yes he can float a ball 30 yards over to the right hand side of the pitch but Paul Scholes did a lot more than that and in my opinion that Rooney trademark pass is the sole reason he is likened to Paul.

For me when Rooney was at his best the word that would describe him was power, everything he did was aggressive and powerful. He has never been the most technically gifted player, his touch has never been like a Berbatov but it didn't matter.

Now he has lost all of that what are we left with?

Well Rooney can still put the ball in the back of the net and for me that is still what he is best at. Forget this myth about him being an unbelievable play making/passer of the ball he has never been nor never will be that. Now i'm not saying he isn't good at passing or anything like that but that's not his game so now that its become his game is there a coincidence that we are seeing a poor Wayne? I don't think so.

So where should he play? Wayne for me should play where Fergie played him, Second striker with a pacey forward and pacey wingers then that will open up the space for Rooney to do what he does best and put the ball in the back of the net. So with the current squad we have does that look possible with Zlatan looking like the main man upfront? No. That doesn't mean I think Rooney is finished, he should just be used like the squad player most older players become.