Wayne Rooney is a player in a hurry. He burst onto the Old Trafford stage in September 2004, just as he had burst into the Premier League with Everton, and has become arguably United’s most important player.

Much was expected of the England’s 18-year-old hero of Euro 2004 when he swapped Everton, his boyhood club, for the Reds in August of that year. Yet becoming the world’s most expensive teenager - £20m rising to a possible £30m – did little to faze him.

In his very first game at Old Trafford he produced a stunning display to blast an unforgettable debut hat-trick past a shell-shocked

Fenerbahce.

It was a fairytale start to his United career and very much a sign of what was to follow. By the end of the 2004/05 campaign he’d amassed 17 goals in 43 appearances and was rightly named PFA Young Player of the Year.

Rooney’s second season at Old Trafford saw him again take huge strides. He ended the season with 19 goals in 48 matches and was voted both Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year by fans and PFA Young Player of the year (again) by his fellow professionals.

The young striker openly aims to better his goals tally each season, and the 2006/07

campaign saw Rooney achieve that with 23 strikes as he shook off a difficult World Cup with England.

Rooney's red card during England's quarter-final defeat to Portugal caused a media storm in Britain, not least because of the involvement of United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, but Wayne rose above the controversy to register another excellent year at United.

A long goalscoring drought was emphatically ended with a stunning hat-trick at Bolton, while doubts over his ability to find the net in Europe were banished as he netted four goals in the Champions League latter stages.

He found the net 18 times in the 2007/08 season, a tally which included three Premier League braces and another four goals in Europe.

His exciting strike partnership with 19-goal Carlos Tevez was one of the key factors in the Reds' Premier League and Champions League double triumph.

The development of the man Sir Alex describes as “the best young player I have seen in my time” continues at a rate which causes either exhilaration or consternation, depending on who you support.