Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has admitted that he "would love to see Wayne Rooney back in a centre-forward's role".

In recent weeks the United skipper has been used as an attack-minded midfielder by manager Louis van Gaal, who instead has started the likes of Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria up front.

However, Neville believes that for Rooney to produce his best performances, he must be used as a striker.

"Growing up I was drawn to Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside. As a Manchester United fan in the 1990s my hero would have been Roy Keane, not for his technical ability, over Ronaldo or Scholes, but for the impact his type of player has on the game-going fan, by showing that fight and passion are alive and well in the dressing room," Neville wrote in The Telegraph.

"By the same token I would love to see Wayne Rooney back in a centre-forward's role, rampaging around and messing centre-backs about, rather than in a more passive midfield role.

"I never bought into the idea that Wayne needed to calm down to improve his football. The street fighter in him is what made him what he is."

To date, Rooney has scored 224 goals for the Red Devils and is 25 short of the club's all-time leading goalscorer Sir Bobby Charlton.