Report: Rooney to remain as Manchester United captain next season

The captain's armband will reportedly remain untouched at Old Trafford.

According to Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Wayne Rooney was informed by Jose Mourinho that he will resume his duties as Manchester United's captain next season, which will mark the third campaign in which the Englishman is the Red Devils' skipper.

Jackson's report comes one day after Mourinho proclaimed that Rooney will be back in United's attack, saying he envisions the 30-year-old as "a nine or a 10 - a nine-and-a-half maybe - but not a six and not even an eight."

Louis van Gaal appointed Rooney as United's captain ahead of the 2014-15 season, and the last campaign saw the Dutch manager deploy the product of Everton as a centre-forward before eventually deciding to move him back into the midfield.

Rooney is apparently happy to return to United's forward line under Mourinho, but it's worth noting that, only one month ago, he said the time was right for him to function in a deeper role, claiming: "I've moved back and played in midfield for the last few months at United and it's a natural way of football. It happens. I feel, with my football intelligence, I can play there and I can further my career as well."

Four goals is all that separates Rooney from equalling Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 249 goals scored for United. While it's reasonable to assume that he'll find the back of the net four times next season, it remains to be seen whether he regularly features in the Red Devils' starting XI due to the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the meteoric rise of 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, and the the club's alleged pursuit of Paul Pogba.