“Wayne Rooney was my favorite player” - Premier League midfielder admits he supported Manchester United as a kid

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White revealed in a recent interview that he supported English giants Manchester United as a kid. The 23-year-old said his idols growing up were Red Devils' legends Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.

Rooney registered 559 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 253 goals and providing 145 assists across all competitions. Meanwhile, Scholes completed 716 appearances for the Premier League side, bagging 155 goals and 81 assists.

When asked about his Premier League idols growing up, the attacking midfielder said (via Utd District):

"Growing up as a kid, I supported United. [Wayne] Rooney was always my favourite player. He was the key player in that squad. Another player I loved watching was Paul Scholes, he used to just pick the ball up and zing it everywhere."

Gibbs-White decided to join Nottingham Forest from Wolves this summer for a reported fee of £42.5 million, including add-ons. So far this season, the former England under-21 international has managed eight appearances, bagging one assist.

Overall, the player has completed 91 appearances in the English top flight, representing Wolves and his current employers, scoring six goals and assisting 10. He'll be hoping for a good season with Nottingham Forest, who are currently placed 13th in the league with nine points.

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Gary Neville predicts Manchester United to finish outside the top five this season

Gary Neville (via Getty Images)

Ex-Manchester United star and pundit Gary Neville predicted his former club to finish outside the Premier League top-five this season following their 2-1 win over Brentford (October 7).

The Red Devils completed a dramatic win over the Bees, seeing Scott McTominay net two stoppage time goals (90+3' and 90+7') after going behind in the first half. Addressing the Manchester outfit's hopes for the season, Neville said on the Sky Sports podcast:

"I don’t think Manchester United will finish in the top five this season. I think they are way off it. And I’m surprised because seven or eight weeks ago, I had them third, But honestly from what I see at the moment, I don’t think the goalkeeper is settled in, I think he should have saved the one yesterday so that is a problem."

Neville is referring to Andre Onana's attempt at saving Mathias Jensen's 26th-minute opener in the aforementioned match. The goalkeeper's latest error which saw Jensen's grounded effort sneak under Onana's glove adds to already existing pressure for his mistakes in a Manchester United shirt.