Wayne Rooney set to join Everton this week - Reports

Finally, it has come to this. Manchester United club captain, record goalscorer, and occasional footballer Wayne Rooney is on his way out of the club. According to an exclusive report in a very bad newspaper with usually good United contacts, Rooney is set for a sensational return to boyhood club Everton. It’s sensational not because it’s a transfer involving one of the most high-profile players of his generation, but because, well, has no one at Everton seen him play recently?!

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

Never mind that. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.

According to Neil Custis, who is confident enough in his reporting to not hedge his claims at all, Rooney will be allowed to join Everton on a free transfer, and the Merseyside club will match his current wages of £250,000 per week.

Rooney, 31, has been withdrawn from the Manchester United squad that will head to the USA on Sunday for their pre-season tour.

Sources close to both clubs say the move is on and the word from Old Trafford last night was that the deal was all but done.

If true, it is a clear indication of how badly United want to get Rooney off of their books that the club is willing to forego any transfer fee. Even in his terribly diminished state, Rooney is still a megastar with significant marketing appeal. Rooney’s transfer will also coincide with Romelu Lukaku leaving for his own return to Chelsea for a world record fee.

Forward Rooney is likely to play in a No 10 role, with Giroud, 30, set to partner him up front in place of Romelu Lukaku, who is poised to move to Chelsea for £90m.

Everton are apparently deadset on creating the world’s slowest forward line.

If this the end of Rooney’s career at United, it would be a limp exit for a player who announced himself so spectacularly 13 years ago. Still, his decline has been undeniable, and he realistically should never been awarded that new contract under David Moyes. Best of luck to Everton fans Rooney at his “new” club.