Revealed: the world-class striker United want to replace Rooney, according to report

Manchester United will make a move to sign Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani in the summer to replace Wayne Rooney, according to a report in the Sunday People published by the Daily Mirror.

The less-reliable Sunday Star also run with this, while the Daily Mail also mentioned Cavani as a target in passing along with Falcao and Diego Costa. It's safe to assume, whatever's going on, that United are open to the possibility of Rooney leaving and they want a genuine world-class striker to replace him.

So, ignoring the possibilty of this, because we can't possibly know, let's look at whether it's a good idea. Cavani doesn't quite offer Rooney's distribution, but he is in much better shape, and he's faster, stronger, a better finisher, and better in the air. It'd certainly be nice, given how much we go down the wings, to have a striker who's good in the air - we haven't had a properly aerially dominant one since Dwight Yorke and even he would be a bit of a stretch.

Going into this season, Cavani was one of the clear top three strikers in the world, along with our own Robin van Persie and Falcao. Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero might have something to say about that when the season ends, but the fact he is a world-class player who guarantees goals is not open to question. He is also remarkable as a lone striker, since he has a rare marriage of pace, strength, height and composure.

Where that leaves Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck, however, remains to be seen. And to be honest, even if this turns out to be a pipedream, aren't you at least a little excited about Wayne Rooney leaving? I mean, we'll have to replace him... won't we?