'Everton are ready to offer Wayne Rooney a new £2 million-a-year contract in the hope of convincing the teenage striker that he should stay with his boyhood club. The deal would more than triple Rooney’s wages and, at the age of 18, put him among the best paid players in the club’s history.
Everton will attempt to persuade Rooney to stay on Merseyside even though the club knows that the player’s representatives are seeking to move him on to Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson has told his board that they should bid for Rooney even though he has a stable of strikers which already includes Ruud van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Alan Smith.
David Gill, the United chief executive, said this weekend that he would not invest £45 or £50 million in one player but Everton would consider an offer of £30 million plus one or two players. Chelsea are also monitoring the situation but believe that, if Rooney is going to leave Goodison Park, his preferred destination is Old Trafford.
It is possible that Rooney could start the season in an Everton shirt if United do not offer acceptable terms. Everton will sit down with Rooney’s representatives shortly but, contrary to reports, there is no meeting due today.'