Stan Collymore believes that underperforming Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney should start thinking about leaving Old Trafford in the foreseeable future.

Rooney is currently clearly not the player he once used to be and the 30-year-old has endured a very difficult start to the current Premier League campaign.

Many fans are now calling for Jose Mourinho to drop Rooney from the starting line-up and now former Liverpool attacker Collymore has stated his belief that the United star should start asking himself questions as to whether or not he is performing, and can perform, to the levels that the club demands.

Collymore wrote in his column for the Daily Mirror: “The reasons he is in the team are his energy and ability to keep the ball, but he isn't bringing either to the team any more.

“That's why he ought to be looking for a conversation with Mourinho along the lines of, 'Gaffer, I'm putting my hands up. I'm not doing it at the minute. I need to be honest with myself and ask, 'Am I still good enough for Man United?''

“I'd expect his agent Paul Stretford to be involved as well, and to be saying, 'You know what? Let's have two or three weeks out of the firing line, maybe a month, and let's sit back and see what the situation is then.'

“And if all parties agreed then that it's better for the player and United to part ways, Mourinho could go to the board and score some Brownie points by telling them, 'It's time to let Wayne go. He's earned the right to a free transfer to a club in MLS, or Italy maybe — but not to one of our Premier League rivals.'

“A move to one of those leagues could well see him get himself back on track, and give United the opportunity to do the same. Unfortunately for Rooney, the reality is that for as long as he persists in the team, he is the one being blamed for United's ills.

“I'm seeing hardcore fans on social media asking who's to blame, then answering their own question by saying that it's Rooney. That's a problem for Mourinho and he has to sort it out."