Red Issue has been saying for weeks that our best information on the subject is that Rooney will come to Old Trafford in January, now the Times report it:
‘Manchester United will wait until the January transfer window before launching an offer to buy Wayne Rooney. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, and the Old Trafford board are extremely confident that the Everton forward will become a United player in the long term, but they have signalled their belief that the price will drop to below £30 million as the Merseyside club grow anxious about the 18-year-old’s reluctance to sign a new contract.
‘United always felt that the £50 million valuation cited by Everton after Rooney’s heroics for England in the European Championship finals was absurd and see the price dropping to around half that. Having been encouraged by noises coming from the player’s advisers, United are confident they are the only realistic buyers and are happy to wait until January, or even next summer, to sign him.’