Gary Cahill today claimed Wayne Rooney has been taken for granted during his England career and backed him to “smash” the country’s goalscoring record.
Manchester United striker Rooney could mark his 100th start against San Marino in Rimini tomorrow night by passing Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal record, which has stood for 45 years, and Cahill said: “Wayne brings so much experience to the team.
“For someone so young to have achieved so much in terms of caps, in terms of goals [Rooney has 49], is absolutely incredible. He has so many years ahead of him for club and country... he could go on and really smash these records, not just break them. I know for him it’s a matter of getting there as soon as he possibly can. If he starts against San Marino, he’ll see that as an opportunity to get some goals.
“Everyone here is willing him on to break the record and it would be a great celebration to win the game and for him to have broken the record. It would be something special.
“Sometimes you take people for granted when they’ve been around for so long, but he is still at a young age compared to what he has done in the game.
“By the time he finishes his career, if you look at all his achievements, then I’m sure that will go down as legendary.”
