:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/27451351/458750721.0.jpg)
Manchester United look like they're serious about giving Wayne Rooney a new contract. After reports were flagged up last night in the Telegraph that United could offer £300,000 a week to Rooney, Sky Sports chime in today by reporting that negotiations have begun and United are likely to offer him in excess of £250,000 a week.
Sky Sports News followed that up by claiming that negotiations will continue after the initial discussions. So, it's far from a done deal yet, and we need to think about where the £300,000 figure came from - it's highly unlikely United would open with such a figure, so whether it's suggested that that's the maximum we're planning to offer, we're not sure just yet.
Even if we don't go quite that high, there's no way Rooney should be getting a wage increase. He's already vastly overpaid, and it's hard to see his issues of fitness and form ensuring he remains just as effective into his thirties. On his day he is indeed a very good player, but he's not Lionel Messi good. At his very best he's barely worth £250,000 a week - when his very best comes all too infrequently over the grand scheme of things, it's madness to consider using up such a huge chunk of our budget elsewhere.
True, he may well be a very good signing for Chelsea. But he'll still be the same Rooney, with all the same problems. And they'll go out and get someone else if they can't get Rooney. We should always be mostly focused on our own house than paying attention to what that lot are doing, but if they're having to sell top players to give themselves room to maneouvre in Financial Fair Play, it'd be nice to see that massive hit go on wages for Rooney rather than someone like Edinson Cavani.
