Wayne Rooney says there’s only one proper striker in the Premier League, and it’s not Erling Haaland

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Wayne Rooney is not impressed with the quality of strikers in the Premier League.

Widely viewed as one of the best players in history, Manchester United legend Rooney scored 208 top-flight goals during his career and lifted the coveted trophy five times.

He was a bruising, no-nonsense centre forward during his heyday, but that type of attacker is now a dying breed as direct football gives way to intricate tactics and patterns.

It is no surprise, then, that Wayne Rooney is underwhelmed with some of the frontmen currently on offer, and he even believes there are glaring issues with Erling Haaland’s game.

As a result, he has singled out another striker as his favourite to watch.

Wayne Rooney praises Jean-Philippe Mateta

Jean-Philippe Mateta has been sensational since joining Crystal Palace permanently from Mainz in 2022.

He has made 151 appearances for the club to date and scored 50 goals, 40 of which have come in the Premier League.

More importantly, Mateta is also crucial to how Palace build up their attacks, and Rooney says his all-round game makes him the most effective target man around at the moment.

Speaking on the latest episode of Rio Meets, Rooney said: “I like Mateta. He’s clumsy. He doesn’t look great on the eye, but he occupies defenders.

“He makes it a difficult game for defenders to try and deal with him. That allows the other players to come into little spaces. So I like him. But other than that, No 9s are going out of the game.”

Haaland is usually named as the best striker in the top-flight, but Rooney does not agree, insisting he wants the Manchester City superstar to bully defenders more.

Crystal Palace must keep Jean-Philippe Mateta

Rooney had tipped Arsenal to move for Mateta during the summer, and a number of big clubs are indeed said to have kept a close eye on him.

However, he ended up staying at Selhurst Park and has already picked up from where he left off last season, scoring four goals in nine appearances across all competitions.

Mateta is tried and tested in the Premier League, perhaps the toughest division in the world, and his physicality and clinical edge in front of goal would see him succeed anywhere.

Palace have already won two trophies under Oliver Glasner, and any hopes of lifting a third rely heavily on keeping Mateta.