Paris Saint-Germain still Rooney's most likely destination

A new poll in Le Parisien has led to Paris Saint-Germain's supporters voting Wayne Rooney as their overwhelming preferred transfer target this year.

This isn't really news, and there have been suggestions that Rooney is the PSG owner's favourite player. Although Ezequiel Lavezzi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are a pretty handy duo to have, neither's future at PSG is particularly secure, and in any case Rooney could likely complement either, particularly with Lavezzi pretty much being a winger these days.

Above all though, it's hard to get away from the sense that if Rooney will leave this summer, PSG will be the destination. I don't share the (alleged) view of the club that we should avoid selling to domestic rivals - Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked with Edinson Cavani this year, so it's not as if it's Rooney or nobody, and if they're going to line up with an elite striker next year then I'd rather it was one who smokes and goes anonymous for months on end - but the suggestions that the club would refuse to consider it seem pretty legit.

Real Madrid and Barcelona might be rich, but they're not bottomless-pit-of-money rich - they have to take wages and transfer fees into account, and if it's too much then they won't make the move. Rooney's wages are exorbitant for what any club paying them would get - it's one of the main reasons he'll almost certainly be off - but any club really looking to make a mark can still make it worthwhile.

While Rooney's stock may have fallen considerably lately, this poll, while it's otherwise worthless, does at least show that Rooney is still a big name. If Paris Saint-Germain are spooked by actions in Monaco this year, then signing a truly A-list name would be a fine way to counterbalance them. The same can't really be said of Real Madrid looking to replace Ronaldo - it would be too clear that Rooney was leaving United as a cast-off, and in any case Bale would be preferred.

We haven't seen any formal moves yet, and it would be naive in the extreme to think that any PSG manager is going to be given full control of the club's transfer policy, but the uncertainty over the new manager may go some way to explaining why that is. PSG are yet to make any big moves this window - we know they will at some point, and Rooney is looking increasingly likely.