When he arrived for £30 million in the summer of 2004, no Manchester United supporter could have imagined that Wayne Rooney would have such an impact on the club.
The Englishman spent 13 years at Old Trafford, making 559 appearances and is currently on the club’s all-time appearances list.
After such a period, the forward reached an incredible level with the Red Devils, scoring a total of 253 goals with an average of 2.2 strikes per game.
Rooney’s subsequent goals made him their record scorer, and such a record remains to this day, surpassing only the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton.
His incredible results helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s side win five Premier League titles during his spell at the North West, helping to make the club one of the most successful clubs in England’s history.
Fast forward to the present day, and current manager Ruben Amorim has found his own version of a fan-favorite player, but it’s not the player many expected.
Benjamin Sesco’s start at United
For United, who scored just 44 goals in England’s top flight last season, it was crucial that they invested in a new talisman – Benjamin Sesco, the man chosen by the hierarchy to be their manager.
The Slovenian’s transfer fee is reported to be £74 million, including a further contract from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, but it is no exaggeration to say that he had a slow start in England and took some time to break out.
After failing to score in any of his first six games for the Red Devils, the 22-year-old has managed to produce results in each of his last two or three games.
Sesco has scored in each of the last two Premier League games for Amorim’s side, his latest goal helping them secure a much-needed win against promoted Sunderland at the Theater of Dreams.
He may still be in the early days of his England career, but he is already showing glimpses of the qualities that could make him a fan favorite for years to come, and could even catapult them to new levels of success.
However, he is not a player who can emulate Rooney at Old Trafford and there is another first-team member closer to the Englishman in the future.
Manchester United’s new signing Rooney
United have spent more than £800m on new signings over the past four years in an attempt to attract top talent as they look to catapult them up the Premier League table.
Much of that money has unfortunately been wasted on players who are not at the level needed to be successful, as evidenced by the club’s 15th place last season.
Amorim was unable to get the best out of the team, which undoubtedly led to the addition of Sesco during the summer in order to prevent such a scenario from happening again in the future.
However, he has already flourished alongside Bruno Fernandes, with the Portuguese international having made a huge impact in the 2024/25 season despite his struggles on the pitch.
The 31-year-old has scored 19 goals and provided 18 assists in all competitions, by far the highest of any first-team player.
Numbers like this make him similar to Rooney in that he is the Red Devils’ main talisman, but it’s another aspect of his game that he emulates the Briton.
After the club spent £200m in the summer, three attacking-minded players joined the club, resulting in Bruno having to change his role.
Described as “world class” by United writer Liam Canning, Fernandes has since been forced into a deep midfield role, with Rooney also playing a similar role later in his career at Old Trafford.
Such decisions led to the Englishman scoring fewer goals in his later years, but his passing ability made him a phenomenal option in that area. Bruno also emulated that level, as evidenced by his successful completion of 82% of his passes in 2025/26.
Bruno Fernandes – PL statistics (2025/26) | |
|---|---|
Statistics (every 90) | tally |
games played | 7 |
goals and assists | 2 |
Pass accuracy | 82% |
shot taken | 2.3 |
An opportunity has arisen | 2.7 |
dribbling success | 57% |
tackle win | 2.1 |
recovery has taken place | 6.2 |
Statistics by FotMob | |
The Portuguese international may struggle in terms of goalscoring numbers, but his ability to dictate play could be a huge asset to Amorim’s side in the coming years.
His passing ability could be crucial for Sesco if the Slovenian is to succeed at Old Trafford, putting huge pressure on the youngster to make it in the Premier League.
But neither player will reach the cult hero status of Rooney at the Theater of Dreams, and no doubt the manager wishes he could bring in such a player in the modern era.