Carrick insists the striker is still a key member of the group.
The transfer saga of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney has been one of the biggest of the summer, with Chelsea publicly making two bids for the forward.
Rooney has made it clear that the 27-year-old wants to leave Old Trafford in this window, but the club are not keen on selling one of their best players – particularly not to a Premier League rival.
The Englishman came off the bench in United’s 4-1 opening game victory over Swansea City and set up goals for Robin Van Persie and Danny Welbeck, but the attacker never looked happy and failed to celebrate with his team mates or acknowledge the traveling fans.
Yet despite this desire to leave the Red Devils, Michael Carrick insists Rooney is still a key member of the squad and that the rest of the team support the striker.
“He is a big Manchester United player. He’s one of us and we all stick together,” the midfielder told the Telegraph.
“When we’re on the pitch, we fight for each other and do what we can for Wayne. He’s certainly part of that.
“He has given this club an awful lot so the fans support him and we support him. As I said, we stick together.”
The United fans at the Liberty Stadium gave Rooney a rousing reception when the England international replaced Ryan Giggs in the 61st minute and the player did repay that faith with a good performance.
However, whether that remains enough to convince the forward to stay in Manchester is unknown, as returning Blues boss Jose Mourinho is still determined to sign the former Everton man.
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