Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli is better than Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney in the number 10 role, suggests Tony Cascarino.
Former Chelsea and Celtic striker Tony Cascarino has suggested in The Times that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli is a better number 10 than Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney.
Rooney is a forward by trade, but in recent times he has been deployed in attacking midfield.
Alli is one of the best young players in the Premier League and is more naturally suited to the number 10 role than the United star.
Former Republic of Ireland international Cascarino has stated that the 20-year-old Tottenham midfielder is better in the number 10 role than Rooney is.
“Jordan Henderson played very well and only highlighted Rooney’s shortcomings as a central midfielder,” Cascarino wrote in The Times while referring to England’s win against Malta at the weekend.
“Rooney is an out-of-form No 10 and Dele Alli is better in that role for England. Wherever he plays, for club and country, there is a better option than Rooney.”
Rooney is 30 years of age, and it will not be easy to transform himself into a midfield player at this stage of his career.
Perhaps if the England international is deployed in that role regularly in the coming months and years, then he could become more productive, but if there are better and younger players than him for that position, then they should be given priority.
England won 2-0 against Malta in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group F game at the Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday evening.
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