Rooney is not leaving the club, insists Moyes

New Manchester United boss David Moyes has once again insisted that Wayne Rooney would not be leaving the side, saying that he has a good relationship with the troubled striker.

The England striker is still considering his Old Trafford future after falling out of favour with former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who claimed that he was out of condition and wanted to end his nine-year stay at United, The Sun reports.

However, the new Red Devils boss, who left for the club's pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East on Wednesday’s night with Rooney alongside him on the flight, said that despite speculations to the contrary, he has a good relationship with Rooney and will not be selling him this season.

Stating that he has met Rooney a few times already, the Scot further said that Rooney has been having a good training session, adding that he has had reports that the player is in the best shape that he had ever showed in a long time.

Moyes, who is desperate to appease Rooney after he was left out of the team by Ferguson during last season's title run-in, further said that he has taken it as a positive from that point of view and will be trying to get the best out of Rooney than he had ever shown till now.

Although Moyes is determined to reinvigorate his star striker, he still plans major changes to his squad in the next few weeks, given that United's only summer signing has been the £2 million defender Guillermo Varela.

However, Moyes said that people must not be fooled by their lack of transfer activity, adding that the club is working very hard behind the scenes to try to improve the squad.

Stating that he believes that this could be the most open title race in years after the summer's managerial changes, Moyes further said that it is the first time that there has been a real major change in the Premier League with the managers at the top end.

But Moyes must continue his pre-season plans without captain Nemanja Vidic, who has had his last two campaigns ruined by serious knee injuries, as now he is suffering from sciatica and was left at home as the team flew out for their three-week tour, the report added.

Photograph: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters