Man-U to offer Rooney captaincy to ward off Chelsea interest

The Red Devils to make the England international Vidic’s successor.

With skipper Nemanja Vidic leaving Manchester United at the end of the season the Red Devils are to offer Wayne Rooney the captaincy to keep him at Old Trafford, reports the Daily Mail.

The Premier League champions have tabled a whopping £300,000-a-week five-year deal to try and convince Rooney to stay, as the forward approaches the final year of his current contract.

Several sides have been linked with a bid for the England international, most prominently Chelsea who made two attempts to try and sign the 28-year-old last summer.

With United in the very realistic position of missing out on Champions League football next term many think that Rooney will leave the club in order to play top European football.

Yet as Moyes searches for a successor for Vidic to give the armband too – with the 32-year-old having confirmed he will be leaving the English champions this summer – the Scot is ready to use this moment to convince the Englishman to stay.

Rooney is the obvious candidate to take over as captain from the centre-back, having been at the Theatre of Dreams for nearly 11 years after a £27m transfer from Everton.

Other veterans of the club such as Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher do not play enough to be handed the responsibility.

However. Moyes does have some criteria for who will be given the honour and it’s something that Rooney may have to listen to carefully.

“We want people to show leadership qualities, not just on the pitch but off the pitch. It is a big standing to be captain of Manchester United,” the 50-year-old was quoted by the Daily Mail.

“The person who takes over has to understand what it means for the club, the responsibility it carries, what is required of you as well.”