Wayne Rooney’s assessment of one first-team Manchester United player under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford proves he should not be overlooked for next season.
Ruben Amorim is now looking ahead to the start of the pre-season campaign for Manchester United after a turbulent 2024-25 Premier League season at Old Trafford.
United only managed to finish in 15th place in the Premier League table last season and the Red Devils’ form fell off a cliff over the course of their league campaign.
Amorim was unable to turn the tide back in United’s favour in the Premier League after he left Sporting CP and arrived as Red Devils head coach last November.
United’s league standing in the 2024-25 campaign was the Red Devils’ worst finish in the Premier League era and left the club without European football for next season.
Amorim faces a mammoth task ahead of him and the United manager is expected to make a major overhaul of key areas of his first-team squad in the summer window.
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Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Manchester United via Getty Images
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What Wayne Rooney saw from Ayden Heaven under Ruben Amorim spoke volumes about the Man Utd defender
Ayden Heaven was one of two Manchester United signings – Patrick Dorgu from Lecce being the other one – who arrived for Ruben Amorim in the January window.
United landed Ayden Heaven from Arsenal on a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the Red Devils paying an undisclosed compensation fee for the ex-Gunners talent.
Heaven had impressed in the Arsenal youth academy and the 18-year-old centre-back was elevated to the United first team under Amorim last season.
Wayne Rooney was impressed with Heaven after his arrival at Old Trafford and praised the United defender for making an immediate impact at the club.
Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day in March (via Manchester United’s official website), Rooney said: “It’s a huge football club and at this time now, when maybe it’s not going right, to come in and play at 18 – it’s a lot of pressure, because those expectations are on you from the first minute.
“But I think, from the games he’s played, he’s been fantastic.
“I came in as an 18-year-old at United and you do feel that pressure, but to come in as a centre-back – which is obviously a position where you can’t afford to make mistakes, otherwise you get punished – is very difficult.
“He looks like he’s been there for years and that’s the biggest compliment I can give him.”
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Wayne Rooney’s feelings on Ayden Heaven need to be backed up by Ruben Amorim’s confidence in the Man Utd talent
Ayden Heaven, who is under contract with United until 2029, managed six appearances for the Red Devils’ senior team after his arrival at Old Trafford.
The second half of the 2024-25 campaign was an ‘audition period’ for Heaven and the former Arsenal academy product passed with flying colours for United fans.
Heaven showed an impressive amount of composure and confidence to play in the three-man backline of Amorim’s tactical system for United last season.
The sky is the limit for the United player and Amorim should build on the high praise that Rooney dropped on Heaven by keeping the defender in his first team for next season.