Wayne Rooney has lost "bite and spark" and needs to rediscover his nasty side, according to former Manchester United and England striker Teddy Sheringham.
Rooney, 30, has been on the bench for his club's three most recent matches, coming on in the second-half in each of those fixtures against Leicester City, Zorya Luhansk and Stoke City. He has only scored one goal in eleven appearances for club and country this season, heading in for United against Bournemouth.
Sheringham told talkSPORT: "I've been saying for a long time now that Wayne Rooney doesn't have the bite and spark he had about five years ago. Without that horrible nastiness, he's half the player.
"He has got to ask himself some serious questions. What is it that makes him a great player? For me, that is it.
"If he can get that back, if he can start performing on the edge again, which made him who he was, then I think you've still got a player there but I haven't seen that for the last 18 months to two years."
Sheringham, who played 156 games for United and won 51 caps for England, added that defenders no longer dislike playing against Rooney, which is a contrast to days gone by.
"You ask centre-halves who have played against him six or seven years ago and are playing against him now -- it's a different footballer," he said.
"The Wayne Rooney of six or seven years ago was a horrible, nasty man who you didn't want to play against. That's not the case at the moment."