Wayne Rooney could still be persuaded to stay at Manchester United despite telling the club he wants to leave. The England international met with Sir Alex Ferguson a fortnight ago and told him that the time was right to move on. United insist Rooney, 27, will not be sold and the imminent appointment of Everton manager David Moyes could alter things. Should the striker receive assurances that he is central to Moyes' plans, he could yet extend his nine-year stay. The player is about to enter the final two years of his contract and, at this stage, United do not plan to offer the player a new contract. But a new start under Moyes, with whom he worked at Everton, may yet re-energise him, especially if he receives guarantees over his standing in the squad. Moyes handed Rooney his Premier League debut as a 16-year-old in August 2002. But the player left Moyes and his hometown club Everton in August 2004 in a deal worth an eventual £27m. He has since scored 197 goals in 402 appearances for United, winning five league titles, two League Cups and a Champions League. This season the England striker has scored 16 in 37 appearances, 12 of those coming in the league as United won their 20th title. However there has been speculation in the second half of the season that Rooney may leave, especially after he was dropped to the bench in favour of Danny Welbeck for the Champions League second-round tie against Real Madrid. But speculation has persisted and now the forward has asked to leave the club for a second time. The first occasion came in October 2010 when Rooney pulled out of contract talks, saying he had not received "any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad". Ferguson said at the time he was "dumbfounded" by Rooney's desire to leave, but 48 hours later, Rooney signed a new five-year deal. Manchester United went on to win the title that season, and Rooney later said staying at the club was the best decision of his career. Moyes and Rooney have had their own differences. In 2008, Moyes accepted substantial libel damages over claims made in Rooney's book about their relationship at Everton. Since then, however, the pair have been reconciled. In September 2012, Rooney wrote on Twitter: "Everton are playing brilliantly. David Moyes has done some job over the last 10 years." On this occasion Rooney has not submitted a formal transfer request, but it is understood he asked verbally to leave.