Manchester United and England star on Arsenal radar for summer signing.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out the potential signing of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United, with the Daily Mail claiming a large part of the club’s £70m transfer kitty will be spent on the England international.
27 year-old Rooney has submitted a transfer request to leave Old Trafford, having been substituted or not selected for some of the Red Devils’ most crucial games this season, and was omitted from the squad altogether for Sir Alex Ferguson’s final home game against Swansea City, with his mentality called into question.
Whilst the Daily Mail claim that Arsenal staff met to discuss the signing of Rooney as early on as March, the deal would require significant restructuring of the Gunners’ wage bill.
Lukas Podolski is currently the highest paid player at Emirates Stadium at £100,000 per week, but Rooney’s wage of £250,000 is a huge step up from that.
Arsene Wenger says that the club have not yet made any moves to begin negotiations for the deal though.
“The first thing we would do is to call Man United, which we have not done,” said the Gunners’ boss to the Daily Telegraph.
It is unlikely that Rooney would join a club not competing in the UEFA Champions League, and much of Arsenal’s summer spending could hinge on their final game of the season against Newcastle United.
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