Rooney: United can win title next season

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney believes the Premier League giants are on the cusp of winning the title, with the captain claiming Louis van Gaal’s men will be well in the mix next season.

Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford in July and was tasked with guiding United back into the UEFA Champions League – an achievement he ticked off as the Manchester club finished fourth and booked a place in the competition’s qualifying rounds following Sunday’s goalless draw at Hull City.

United, who introduced new signings Angel di Maria, Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind throughout the campaign, ended the season 17 points adrift of Premier League champions Chelsea but Rooney insists the gap is not so big after a slow start to the campaign.

“I believe we are [close],” Rooney told Sky Sports.

“You take the first 10, 11 games and I think we had 13 points. When you consider from after that amount of games to where we’ve finished, we’ve probably got as many points after that as anyone else.

“I think we’re close, there’s no doubt about it. You can see in our performances, we’re outplaying teams, dominating possession, and it’s just that final thing of taking our chances.

“In the Chelsea game, if I had scored that with my left foot then it could have been a completely different game and might have put them under a bit of pressure – it might have been a lot closer than it’s finished.

“As a group of players, myself and the manager – we all believe we’re close and I’m sure with a player or two in the summer we’ll have a good chance of going for the title.”