Growing up as a Manchester United season-ticket holder, Max Bird dreamt of playing alongside idol Wayne Rooney.
Now he is not only in the same side as the former England captain, whose name adorned his old replica shirt, but they are even central midfield partners.
Rooney, 34, has dropped deeper in the twilight of his career. But the respect within the game for England and Manchester United ’s record goalscorer remains the same as ever.
Asked for his reaction to Rooney’s arrival this season, Bird, 19, admitted he had been “a bit overwhelmed”.
“After last season I didn’t think it could get much better with Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole coming to the club,” he said.
“When Wayne signed I thought, ‘This is my opportunity, one of my heroes is coming to the club, so I have to try and impress him’, and hopefully I have.
“He was one of my favourites, I had his name on the back of my shirt for a couple of seasons. I dreamt of playing with him, but didn’t think it would actually happen.
“I am very grateful and all I want to keep doing is keep impressing him, keep doing the manager proud, and keep playing for this club.”
Bird and Rooney will again be team-mates on Thursday night for manager Phillip Cocu’s Rams when United visit in the FA Cup with a quarter-final spot up for grabs.
“Wayne is a big player for us and was a big player at United, so he is going to have a lot of attention on him. But, most importantly, he is an asset for our team,” added Bird.
“He has been in these situations before and will know how to handle them.
“He helps me a lot. I have learned a lot from him in terms of how he plays, what I can do to help him, what he does to help me, and we just try to complement each other.
“He has a good vibe about him. He helps the lads, and not just the young lads, but the other players in the team.
“His attributes on the pitch help other players come out of their shells and play better.”
Rooney has three goals and two assists in 14 games for Derby since leaving MLS side DC United. Cocu said: “We are very pleased we have him here. He is a player with excellent vision and tactical and technical skills.”
