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Wayne Rooney was never supposed to grow up into a player who watched on from the substitutes' bench.

This is, after all, the boy wonder who developed into the most naturally gifted English player of his generation, a wrecking-ball of a centre forward who burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old at Everton and captured the attention of the world with some precocious performances at Euro 2004.

But after nine years at Manchester United, Rooney has reached a crossroads in his career following a season in which he has found himself fighting for his place in an increasingly congested forward line.

Left out of the starting line-up in favour of Danny Welbeck and Nani for the second leg of the Champions League tie with Real Madrid; dropped to the bench for the FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea; switched to the flanks to accommodate Shinji Kagawa - Rooney is no longer the automatic first-choice he once was.

His peripheral role in the defeat by Real, arguably United's biggest game of the season, hurt the most. Rooney accepted the manager's decision in a dignified manner when the news was broken to him at a team meeting two hours before kick-off. But later, the striker would admit his shock and disappointment to his team-mates.

The disgruntlement has rumbled on. In recent days, it has emerged that 

Rooney walked into Sir Alex Ferguson's office a fortnight ago and asked to leave United for the second time in less than three years.

The response from Ferguson was unequivocal - he would not be allowed a transfer, he would not be sold.

And yet the issue will not go away.

If Rooney really is to stay at United next season, it would either mean agreeing a new contract this summer or being allowed to enter the final two years of the deal he signed in 2010, when he came so close to leaving Old Trafford. Privately, leading figures at United are pragmatic about the situation and are open to the possibility of selling Rooney if the right offer comes their way this summer.

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The latest Star Wars film is to be made in the UK, producer Lucasfilm has said.

The seventh movie in the sci-fi series is due to start production next year and is scheduled for release in 2015.

Filming on previous Star Wars also took place in Britain at studios including Elstree, Shepperton and Leavesden.

Chancellor George Osborne met executives from Disney-owned Lucasfilm in London earlier this year to discuss the plans and the production is thought to be eligible for a tax break.

In a statement, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm president, said: "We've devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I'm thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilising the incredible talent there can be a part of that."

The company said representatives from Lucasfilm met with Mr Osborne "to establish an agreement to produce Star Wars in the UK".

Mr Osborne said: "Today's announcement that the next Star Wars film will be shot and produced in the UK is great news for fans and our creative industries, and it is clear evidence that our incentives are attracting the largest studios back to the UK.

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