Wayne Rooney has revealed that he voted for Daley Blind over David De Gea as Manchester United‘s Player of the Year for 2015/16.
The Dutch international has made 33 league appearances and been deployed in a relatively new position of centre-back under Louis van Gaal’s guidance this season.
He has registered a tackles success rate of 50%, with 66 challenges won from a possible 133. But it is in the take-ons department that the 2014 summer signings has really exceeded himself, winning 81%.
“It’s always exciting to see who the fans and players have voted for,” Rooney told MUTV. “I went for Chris [Smalling] last year and Daley [Blind] this year, they’ve been great in games when we’ve needed them this year. Thankfully, they’ve stayed fit all season.”
The club captain also explained why another candidate for the accolade, United goalkeeper De Gea, who won the award in 2015, didn’t get his vote.
“De Gea hasn’t got my vote,” he admitted. “I find it difficult to vote for a goalkeeper.”
De Gea narrowly avoided being transferred to La Liga giants Real Madrid towards the end of the summer transfer window only for the deal to fall through at the last minute after paperwork issues.
He has gone on to feature 31 times in the league having missed the first four outings as Sergio Romero, who conceded only twice, was preferred between the sticks.
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