Cleverley backs Man Utd teammate Rooney for future England captaincy
Tom Cleverley has backed his Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney to be England’s long-term future captain. With regular skipper Steven Gerrard injured, the striker took the armband for the first time competitively in Friday’s comfortable victory over minnows San Marino and scored twice in the process to move into fifth place in the overall England scorers’ chart.
However, Rooney is set to relinquish the armband in the wake of Gerrard’s expected return to the side for Tuesday’s qualifier with Poland.
However, according to the BBC, Cleverley, who himself is vying for a start alongside Gerrard in Warsaw’s National Stadium, believes that at the age of just 26, Rooney will take the captaincy once again in the future.
“Wayne has got all the attributes to be a top leader,” said Cleverley. “He is a leader, a winner and I like playing underneath him as a captain.
“Wayne was quite vocal in the dressing-room before [the San Marino game]. He was chipping in with points for the team, to improve the team.”
Rooney has endured a difficult start to the season at Old Trafford, where summer signing Robin van Persie has emerged as the team’s central striking force while the England man spent a spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury.
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