Steve Holland: 'Wayne Rooney still has England future'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 29 May 2017

Holland: 'Rooney still has England future'

England assistant manager Steve Holland insists that the door will "never" be closed for Wayne Rooney at international level, despite being left out of the latest squad.

England assistant manager Steve Holland has insisted that the international door will "never" be closed for Wayne Rooney, despite the skipper missing out on a place in the latest squad.

The 31-year-old made just 15 Premier League starts and scored only five goals for Manchester United this season - both the lowest tallies of his illustrious career.

England boss Gareth Southgate opted to leave Rooney out of his squad to face Scotland and France next month as a result of his lack of football, but Holland insists that the team's record goalscorer still has a future on the international stage.

"With Wayne, he has not been playing regularly, other players in his position have, and the door is not closed and never will be closed. Who knows what next season will bring for Wayne?" Holland told talkSPORT.

"[Southgate] is trying to create an environment where if players play well, regardless of what club they are at [they will get a chance]. Jake Livermore, for example, at West Brom appeared in our last fixture in Germany. Michael Keane at Burnley, too.

"If I was an English player playing at a good level I'd be looking at it and thinking if I could produce any sort of consistently, there could be a chance. If they can do that, he will give them a go."

Rooney has made 119 appearances for England - a record for an outfield player - but the most recent of those came in November 2016.