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Fergie: Nothing in Rooney-to-PSG reports

Wayne Rooney has had to fight for his place at Manchester United this season © Getty Images

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has played down talk of Wayne Rooney leaving Old Trafford for a move to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

Rooney has endured a difficult time of late, with speculation over his future rising ever since he was dropped for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid in March. Former England international Alan Shearer stated his belief on Friday that the forward should leave Old Trafford.

PSG have been touted as the England international's most likely destination. However, Ferguson is confident the striker will still be around next season.

When asked if there was any truth behind rumours suggesting Rooney could be set for a move to Paris, Ferguson said: "I don't think there is anything in that at all."

Rooney was substituted early in United's 2-2 draw at West Ham on Wednesday, leading to further talk that Ferguson is starting to lose patience with the former Everton man. The United boss, however, said the substitution was purely for tactical reasons, with his side trailing to the Hammers and in search of an equaliser.

"As far as taking him off on Wednesday, it was simple, he wasn't playing as well as Shinji [Kagawa] was," Ferguson said. "We had to get the goal that mattered, and of course in so many matches Wayne Rooney is playing better than most players. On the night, Shinji was playing so well.

"The ironic thing was, chasing the game with 14 minutes to go I decided to put Chicharito [Javier Hernandez] on, and Shinji makes the second goal. I'd already given the fourth official the card [to make the substitution] and Chicha was standing on the touchline and then we scored the second goal. I think if I'd have changed my decision then we would have won the game as Shinji was playing so well."

Ferguson also believes that West Ham should have been down to ten men on Wednesday, following Andy Carroll's heavy challenge on David de Gea. However, the United boss is refusing to get hung up about the incident as he feels he would only be wasting his time.

"I think it was a red card, I don't think there is any dispute," he said. "Sam [Allardyce] was talking about them being robbed after the game but I think they should have been down to ten men.

"It doesn't bother me afterwards as I don't look to say that there should be retrospective action taken. It doesn't affect us anymore. There's nothing you can do about it now."

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