adminbarrage of questions about the unsettled England striker.
Moyes stopped short of confirming that Rooney — who is understood to have told Ferguson that he wants to leave towards the end of last season — has changed his mind, but insisted that he will be staying at the club.
“Wayne is not for sale,” he said. “He’s a Manchester United player and he will remain a Manchester United player.”
Moyes also managed the 28-year-old during his time at Everton and believes he can get the best out of the England striker.
“I’ve been fortunate, I’ve known Wayne since he was 16,’ Moyes said.
“I’ve had several meetings with Wayne.
“He’s training brilliantly well, he’s come back in good shape and I’m really looking forward to working with him. We have spoken several times and as far as I’ve seen it, whatever happened before has gone.
‘We are working together now. I see a glint in his eye, he looks happy and if he is saying I’m going to knuckle down and get it right — let’s not kid ourselves. He’s a terrific player and let me reiterate, he’s not for sale.”
Moyes also distanced himself from any meeting between Rooney and his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson about a possible departure for the forward from Old Trafford.
“There was a private meeting between two people and I was not privy to that. I’m now looking at it in my period at Man Utd,” Moyes said.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Wayne and getting him to the levels I know he’s capable of. I can tell you categorically that Wayne Rooney is training very well.
“If I was Wayne, you look at the legends that have played for this club. I could see George Best, Bobby Charlton, Roy Keane and I thought Wayne isn’t too far away from that.
“It’s not too difficult to get the goals and he could be near to that.” Ferguson is set to miss the opening matches of the Moyes reign.
Ferguson, who retired at the end of last season following twenty-six years in charge of the Old Trafford club, is to undergo a hip operation this summer and is unlikely to be fit enough to attend the first few games of the David Moyes era.
The legendary Scot is booked in for surgery at the end of July and barring a rapid recovery, Ferguson will be unable to attend the Community Shield against Wigan on August 11th, where Moyes is expected to lift his first trophy with United.
Ferguson’s rest and recuperation period following the operation may also mean that he will miss the start of the Premier League season, as Moyes’ side launch the defence of their Premier League crown with a set of particularly nasty-looking fixtures.
United begin their campaign with a tricky-looking visit to Swansea, before Moyes goes toe-toe with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in his first game at Old Trafford as United boss.
The champions also travel to Liverpool and Manchester City by the middle of September.
Although Ferguson would have preferred to have been in attendance as a new era dawns at Old Trafford, he is said to be privately quite content to miss the games, as it may lift some of the pressure off Moyes’ shoulders as the former Everton manager looks to get United firing on all cylinders.
Ferguson, who remains at United in a directorial and ambassadorial position, is understood to have been fearful that his presence in the stands could have proved an unhelpful distraction, especially if Moyes struggles in his first few games in the job. — Mailonline.
Online Reporter