England boss Roy Hodgson feels Wayne Rooney’s best position is up front and has stressed that he has no plans to use his captain in a midfield role.

Since Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Southampton in early December last year, Louis van Gaal has been playing the England striker in midfield.




Rooney even played at the base of a midfield diamond after Daley Blind was taken off due to a head injury against Burnley on Wednesday at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman is facing criticism from some quarters for using one of Manchester United’s all-time top scorers in the middle of the park, but Van Gaal is insistent on utilising Rooney’s versatility.
 


Even the England manager feels playing as a midfielder is not the best option for Rooney and confirmed that in all probability the Three Lions captain will be used as a striker for England.  

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Though Rooney has failed to find the back of the net since scoring twice against Newcastle United during the festive period, Hodgson is hopeful that the England captain can continue in the rich vein of form that he is in on the international front, where he has scored in three consecutive European Championship qualifiers.

"I don't necessarily think that will be his best position for us and I don't have any immediate plans to play him there", Hodgson told the FA's site. "But who knows? I will never say never.

"He's a goalscorer and you always like to see goalscorers in positions where they can get into the box.

“If you've got several other goalscorers and can afford to use one of them a bit further back, that's fine.

"But he's our top goalscorer in the qualifiers, he's just a couple of goals away from being England's leading goalscorer, so I hope he will continue to score goals for us."

England will play Lithuania in a Euro 2016 qualifier towards the end of the next month before taking on Italy in an international friendly.

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