Gary Neville believes Wayne Rooney could one day beat Sir Bobby Charlton's scoring record for Manchester United. The 23-year-old has not even reached the halfway point in the chase to reach the Red Devils legend's milestone of 249.

However, he did take his current tally to 102 with his crucial penalty against Arsenal on Saturday, leaving him 18th on the all-time list behind such notables as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo, who found the net on 118 occasions.

Wayne does have an opportunity to beat Bobby Charlton's scoring record. He will have to play a lot more game and stay clear of injury.
Gary Neville on Wayne Rooney's chances of becoming Manchester United's all-time record scorer

Of his present team-mates, both Ryan Giggs - who eclipsed Charlton's appearance record in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final - and Paul Scholes have both scored more often. But Rooney does have time on his side and, having pledged his long-term future to the club he joined from Everton as an 18-year-old in 2004, the £27m star could get much closer.

"There is a long time to go before he gets there but Wayne does have an opportunity to beat Bobby Charlton's scoring record," said Neville. "He will have to play a lot more games and stay clear of injury, because that record has stood for many years and will be very difficult to break.

"But a player of his ability should score goals. He plays centre-forward for Manchester United. That points you in the right direction."

United will hope Rooney returns from England duty unscathed because, having stuck to his pledge not to make any late purchases in the transfer window, Ferguson has placed his trust in the Merseysider to provide his side's attacking thrust over the next few months.

Ferguson has more of his first-team squad around than usual during an international break, with Rio Ferdinand continuing his fight for fitness alongside Giggs, Neville, Scholes, Michael Owen, Anderson and Tomasz Kuszczak, all of whom will come into contention for the tricky encounter with Tottenham Hotspur on 12 September.

One day I would love to return to Italy. Maybe one day I will return to Lazio, but for now I am happy at Manchester United.
Federico Macheda

As he has yet to make the bench this term, Federico Macheda seems unlikely to be involved at White Hart Lane. Away with the Italy U-21 side this week, the forward's absence from the United first-team picture does seem surprising given the praise Ferguson heaped on the teenager in the summer. However, it seems Macheda is happy where he is just now, even if, at some point in the future, he would welcome a return to his homeland.

"One day I would love to return to Italy as it was where I was born and of course I always follow Italian football," he told Italian TV channel Sky Sports 24. "Maybe one day I will return to Lazio, but for now I am happy at Manchester United and it is my dream to play with them in the Champions League this season."