Where should Wayne Rooney play for England at Euro 2016?

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With 546 top flight appearances and 245 top flight goals, Wayne Rooney is a certified English legend already. Dubbed the “White Pelé” in his youth for his power, technical ability and prolific goal-scoring ability, the forward went on to be a centrepiece of the most dominant team in the Premier League’s 24-year history and continues to lead one of the biggest teams in world football. The comparisons to Pelé died down eventually, but they’re still echoed in the England and Manchester United captain’s style of play. As versatile as he is explosive, Rooney has been utilised as number 10, and even as a central midfielder as much as a striker in the past couple of seasons. So, despite being England’s all-time highest goal scorer and the Premier League’s second highest, why is there so much debate about whether he should start for England at the Euros?

Since the beginning of Louis van Gaal’s tenure at United, the captain seems to have lost that clinical edge that placed him amongst the world’s elite list of centre-forwards. Last season, Rooney managed 15 goals and 6 assists across all competitions for United in 42 appearances, despite only playing 6 games in a deeper midfield role. Rooney’s contribution pales in comparison to his 2013/14 season performances under David Moyes, in which he scored 19 and assisted 22 in two fewer appearances.

Admittedly, Van Gaal’s United have hardly been praised for free-scoring, offensive football. They’ve adopted a hard-to-break-down, possession-based style that doesn’t necessarily play to Rooney’s strengths as a forward. However, when he has had a chance to demonstrate the pace and presence of mind to surge past defenders, it hasn’t created nearly as many chances as it would have in previous years. He’s been criticised thoroughly in the media for “losing a yard of pace”, an age old cliché that may be ringing true. The fact is, Rooney has carried the ball less than any other season since before 2009/10 at just 1.3 dribbles per game and only took, on average, 2.6 shots per game.

If you listen to the stats alone, the people who say Harry Kane should start ahead of Rooney as a centre forward are probably right. Kane scored 33 goals in 55 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham this season, winning the Premier League Golden Boot in the process. Kane also managed 4.2 shots per game in the league and 2.5 dribbles. On form, on stats and even on performances for England, Kane should be the first name on the team sheet for Roy Hodgson in France.

Rooney could even be the third option to lead the line, behind Daniel Sturridge. The Liverpool striker is as prolific in front of goal as he is in the medical department. Despite being injured for a massive part of the season, when he was on the field, Sturridge couldn’t stop scoring.  By the minute, the Liverpool front man hit the back of the net 0.7 times every 90 minutes, an outrageous return for any player, let alone one who was recovering from injury more than he was fully fit.

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Jamie Vardy will also provide stiff competition for those starting places. The determined forward is the man of the moment in the English press right now, having come so very close to the Golden Boot as he led Leicester to the Premier League title. Vardy offers so much more than just goals, relentlessly pressing defenders and chasing every ball in sight. While he may be a better option as a late substitution to cause tiring defenders, even more, trouble, a similar role to that Marcus Rashford might play, it certainly seems that he’s another player that should start ahead of Rooney in the centre-forward role.

Truth be told, it’s looking unlikely that there will be a place for the captain leading the line at the Euros, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be perpetually trapped on the bench in what feels like his sixth breakout tournament. The likelihood is England will go into games at the Euros with either a 3 or 4 man midfield, with wingbacks operating on both sides. That’s a lot of space to fill in the centre of the park, and Rooney will definitely have a place there due to England’s lack of consistent, outstanding quality throughout the midfield.

An exception to that is, without a doubt, Dele Alli. The young Spurs midfielder has been a sensation since moving from then league 1 side MK Dons. Many expected him to fill the bench with the occasional start in his inaugural premier league season, but Alli far exceeded the hype around him. He became a stalwart in a team that already had considerable attacking quality and excelled. At 19/20 years old, he scored 10 and assisted 9 goals in 33 league appearances, creating an average of 1.7 goal scoring opportunities per game. Hodgson would be foolish to overlook Alli for the sake of Rooney’s name, but if recent England line-ups have given any indication, it’s likely that Alli will be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Ross Barkley has drawn a lot of comparisons to Rooney in his short career, though even more to the great yet troubled Paul Gascoigne. He possesses the same explosive energy and incredible physicality, with fantastic footwork and a good range of passing at his disposal. The Everton attacking midfielder has been deployed just behind the striker and deeper into midfield, much like Rooney of late. While he was a standout performer in, admittedly, a very poor Everton side, he’s been anonymous and underwhelming in an England shirt this season. As such, it’s less about whether Rooney can lay claim to Barkley’s place in the squad, and more about whether Barkley can challenge Rooney.

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Jack Wilshere is a controversial figure amongst England fans, with many believing that he’s only in the squad because he’s become Hodgson’s pet project/favourite son. Truthfully, though, the dynamic Arsenal playmaker should be a stalwart in any midfield that has some degree of defensive balance. Wilshere is by far and away the most creative midfielder England has and, despite his seemingly endless injury problems, is still a fantastic attacking outlet for Hodgson to have going into the competition. Despite also reading the game well defensively, Wilshere still needs to have a more defensively minded midfielder alongside him to thrive. With the emergence of Eric Dier, it seems that England may finally have that option.

Jordan Henderson has been a favourite of Roy Hodgson for several years. The Liverpool captain is a stereotypical box-to-box midfielder, bringing a degree of athleticism that allows him to press from the midfield, pressuring the opponents and forcing mistakes and recycling possession. Liverpool seem to be attempting to mould him into Steven Gerrard’s successor and, while the creative side of his game isn’t on that level yet, he’s making progress.

Despite his talents, Henderson is perhaps the player who should be replaced by the captain for several reasons. In many ways, he’s a weaker version of Rooney when he’s deployed in that central midfield role. While playing in that role, Rooney made more than twice the amount of successful long and short passes, while misplacing fewer in the league this season. Henderson made slightly more interceptions and tackles a game, but by a very minimal amount. The stats can only say so much, however. In midfield, Rooney’s determination to run seems to reappear, with surging runs that create so much space for his teammates. Henderson is more static in attack, however, with less than a third of Rooney’s successful dribbles in the league this season. The England captain puts just as much pressure on the opposition as Henderson when not in possession, tenaciously fighting to win the ball back. Perhaps most importantly though, given how young the squad is, Wayne  provides a true leader on the pitch, a commanding and inspiring presence that will motivate and drive the squad forward.

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In some games this season, it seemed like Rooney almost became a victim of his own versatility. His attacking prowess up front cut short by a desire to create, the pressure of being Manchester United’s primary attacking force leading to a confusion of identity. In many cases, it seemed like he wanted to be in two places at once. It seems that Roy Hodgson could provide a solution to his captain’s crisis of identity over the course of the Euros by moulding him into the midfielder he’s shown so much promise as, by letting England’s Number 10 fall into the role that seems to suit him more and more every game.

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