Robbie Savage states his expectations of Wayne Rooney this season

Robbie Savage has written in The Mirror that he expects Wayne Rooney to score more than 20 goals for Manchester United this season.

The former Derby County and Leicester City midfielder believes that United manager Louis van Gaal will play the England international forward up front and not in a deeper role this term.

“I trust we have seen the last of the England captain dropping too deep to be a serious attacking threat, and I expect him to score 20-plus goals this season,” Savage wrote in The Mirror.

Could Robbie Savage’s prediction come true?

Rooney may be 29 years of age, but he remains one of the best and most influential players in the current United squad.

The former Everton star is a versatile player, but his best position is as a striker. Playing him in a deeper role limits his influence on games.

Van Gaal will have realised that, having deployed him out of his best position on many occasions during the 2014-15 campaign.

If Rooney is played regularly as a striker, then he is certainly going to have a very good chance of scoring more than 20 goals in the 2015-16 Premier League campaign.