David Moyes is keen to keep Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford, despite the striker’s alleged desire to leave Manchester United, and will outline his plans to the United number 10 over the next couple of weeks, the morning papers report. Rooney was a marginal figure throughout the final two months of last season when Sir Alex confirmed the striker had handed in a transfer request, something Rooney and his camp have subsequently denied.
According to the Mirror: “Moyes is not looking to sell the star he put on the road to the top at Everton and will let him know that when they finally get together.
“The champions’ new manager also plans to assure England ace Rooney that he has no problem with him and will try to smooth-over the ‘transfer request’ row.”
The tabloid claims that, unlike what many had anticipated, David Moyes is not planning to have a one-on-one meeting with Rooney, but will talk to the striker to make his position clear only once he’s settled in his new position at Old Trafford. Just the news of this meeting must have dampened the odds of Rooney leaving United but the future of the Englishman is still uncertain.
The Mirror, it seems, wants its readers to believe that Rooney was the victim throughout the last couple of months of Sir Alex’s tenure and that he’s been subject to some unfair criticism from the fans, despite the striker’s second transfer request in three seasons.
“The England hitman has taken flak from United fans since the dispute hit the headlines but has said nothing about what went on in his meeting with Ferguson,” says the tabloid.
“Rooney will look to put the record straight at some stage, and Moyes hopes he will be doing that as a United player.
“There has been talk of Rooney demanding an apology, but that is not on the player’s agenda as he has no issue with Moyes or the club.”
The Sun, however, claims that should Rooney quit Old Trafford, Barcelona would be his preferred destination. How Rooney would fit in a team containing Messi and Neymar is hard to imagine, not to mention that the thought of him learning a new language is rather hard to envisage, yet the tabloid claims that the interest could be mutual and that an agreement could be reached for a fee of around £25m. He will not be a bonus at Camp Nou, he will be surplus.
The Rooney to Barca story is also mentioned by Telegraph, although it’s more of a tongue-in-cheek comment than anything else, while the broadsheet picks up on the rumour involving a potential £50m bid for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani.
The Mirror reports that while United would have the financial capability to trigger the Uruguayan’s release clause, his wage demands would create a problem for a club trying to comply with the Financial FairPlay rules, for the Napoli striker is thought to be demanding a staggering £300,000-a-week salary by whichever club secures his signing.
