One of the transfer sagas of the summer is set to reach its completion, with Wayne Rooney edging ever closer to a move to Chelsea, who are poised to table a second bid for the wantaway United striker and who, according to a tabloid” are confident that “Rooney will never wear a red shirt again”.
Chelsea’s second offer is thought to be in the region of £24m, but different papers report that the Blues would consider raising their bid to around £30m to secure Rooney’s services, even if they had to wait until the end of the transfer window on September 2.
The Mirror believes that “it is a only matter of time” before Wayne Rooney relocates to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea convinced their offer will be enough to land their man, despite David Moyes’ repeated denials that the striker would not leave Old Trafford this summer and United’s desire to avoid selling to a Premier League rival.
According to the Mirror: “If the Reds are successful in their ongoing quest to land Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, Chelsea expect United will be able to ‘sell’ his arrival as an ‘upgrade’ to justify the departure of Rooney to SW6.
“But United boss David Moyes will not want his first home game as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor to be overshadowed by Rooney’s return to Manchester.
“And while Chelsea feel the champions have no option but to sell before the transfer window shuts on September 2, they are willing to have to wait until the final days to get their man.”
The paper’s position is rather sensible for a big signing would undoubtedly soften Wayne Rooney’s departure, however United appear to be still far away from landing one of their summer targets, which could force them to hang on to their number 10 for a lot longer than Chelsea might like them to. Furthermore, the thought Rooney featuring at Old Trafford in a blue shirt on August 26 with United not having bolster their squad would be a PR disaster for David Moyes and the club.
Meanwhile, Robin Van Persie has warned United’s rivals that the club will be just as strong with David Moyes at the helm that they were last year under Sir Alex Ferguson.
“They can think what they want to think. It doesn’t matter to us. What matters to us is the way that we work. Trust me, we will work very hard. It’s a huge challenge to all of us and it is one we are looking forward to. I hope it will be the same this time [as last season] as I want to win more this time. The club wants to win more. Last year we won the league and that was great but this time we want to win the league and more as well,” the Dutchman told the Guardian.
“I don’t let things get in the way,” explained Van Persie. “I want chances every day, every session, every game. I just see big opportunities. I still have more years left and it’s not like I am saying: ‘Yeah, we won the league so that’s me done’. I want more now. It makes me even more hungry. I was very hungry last year but now I am more hungry. We have a great bunch of players so we can win more and do better. I always try to do better than the day before so, yes, I can do better than last year.”
Van Persie, however, stressed the need to improve to keep United level with their main rivals, who have bolstered their squads so far this summer. “We have to improve to stay ahead of them because over the last few years the English league has become better and better,” he explained. “Every single team has got harder to beat. Everyone wants to be successful. Moyes wants to be successful. He has been working very hard and he has spoken to every single player individually.
“It’s different [without Ferguson]. Of course it was a great year last time. It was my first year with him and the first year at the club I had with him. It was a great year for the club and we all did great things together,” he said. “But now it’s a new year and I am very much looking forward to it with a new manager and staff. For now we have the same players. He [Moyes] is very nice. He works very well. It’s only based on a few sessions but I loved them.”
