Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney takes son Kai to training sessions - with Manchester City

Wayne Rooney is taking his son, Kai, to training sessions with Manchester United's bitter rivals

Wayne Rooney and his son, Kai

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is taking his son, Kai, to training sessions with rivals Manchester City.

Until recently, the seven-year-old had been playing with United’s development team but is now spending time under the guidance of United’s city rivals.

Now, however, Rooney is accompanying his eldest son to the City Football Academy. The Daily Mail reports Rooney regularly watches Kai from the sidelines, accompanied by his grandfather, Wayne snr.

The paper quotes a Manchester City coach as saying: "Most of them want to be a No 9, but it's all about them enjoying their football at this age.

"You are not looking to see if they are a centre forward or a holding midfielder, but can they play with their head up? Are they two footed? How do they pass? Can they listen and learn?

"Our people are trained on what to look out for, although it’s too early to find out if you have the next Rooney or Steven Gerrard.

"But that doesn’t stop clubs from moving quickly to invite young boys to come and train and use their facilities.

"Every club is looking for young English talent. I recently lost two players to bigger clubs. It’s a fact of life at this age."

Premier League clubs cannot officially sign players until the age of nine.