Wayne Rooney has urged Michael Carrick to stop deploying Matheus Cunha as Manchester United's central striker after the Brazilian's goalless start to the season. Cunha has led the line in all three Premier League matches so far, but has struggled to make an impact for the Red Devils.
The Brazilian international is yet to get on the scoresheet and was replaced by Benjamin Sesko after 70 minutes on Sunday, with the Slovenian heading home United's second goal in their dramatic 2-2 draw with Everton. A shin injury saw Sesko fail to feature in any of United's pre-season fixtures, but the 23-year-old has an impressive goal return since Carrick's appointment last January.
Rooney's Tactical Criticism
Speaking on Stick to United, Rooney said: 'I'm just not having Cunha as a number nine. I think he's a good player, but I think there were times yesterday, which I really liked yesterday, with Tielemans and Mainoo. I thought they had a lot of control and it was simple what they were doing, but very effective and they were playing balls in between the lines.'
'But I just think he was coming two deep at times and if he's coming that deep as number nine and you haven't got the runners in behind, you've got no one up top.'
Alternative Roles for Cunha
Rooney suggested a positional switch could unlock the former Wolves forward's potential. 'So I would have liked to have seen [Marcus] Rashford there and whether you put Cunha out on the left to come in, but there was the one time where he did do it and Cunha got turned and Rashford made the run towards the end of the first half, I think it was.'
Comparing Cunha's impact to Sesko's, Rooney added: 'You look when Sesko comes on, get the ball, comes into him, gets out wide, gets in the box, gets his goal. I think that's what Cunha doesn't give you. So unless you're playing and you're constantly probing and keeping the ball and then you're allowing Mbeumo able to make runs in behind and Rashford to make more runs in behind from wide areas, I just don't think, for me, he's the one to play as a nine.'
Andy Cole's Support
Fellow former Red Devils striker Andy Cole echoed Rooney's sentiments, but backed Cunha to recover his form. 'I wouldn't want to judge Cunha as a number nine, because he is more of a free spirit than an out-and-out striker,' Cole told Metro via Unibet online casino. 'I've said before, he's good coming off the wide areas, and he can play in behind. So he can play numerous roles.'
'He just needs to start being repetitive. That's what Manchester United expect. I hope he can continue last season's good form into this one. He's still getting back to speed after the World Cup, but I really do like him.'
Sesko will now be pushing for a start in next weekend's Manchester derby, with Rooney's comments adding pressure on Carrick to alter his attacking setup.
