Manchester United Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Fabinho and Wayne Rooney

Manchester United reportedly submitted a €50 million (£44 million) bid for AS Monaco star Fabinho on Friday.

According to GianlucaDiMarzio.com, United's offer ended Juventus' interest in the Brazilian.

The holding midfielder played a key role in Monaco's Ligue 1 title win last season, and he can also play at right-back, having featured there before his transition into the centre of the park.

Fabinho excels at the defensive side of the game thanks to his superb ball-winning skills and intelligent play.

According to Squawka, he won 77 tackles and 63 headed duels in Ligue 1 last season, making 54 interceptions and 73 clearances.

He also created 33 chances for his team-mates, and he's as composed as anyone from the penalty spot, per Squawka Football:

"

Fabinho's penalty record for Monaco across all competitions:

16 taken ✅
15 scored ⚽️
1 missed ❌

Not-so-secret talent.  pic.twitter.com/eC1DZdK6Tm

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 23, 2017"

Football writer Ryan Baldi believes he could help United become Premier League title challengers again:

The 23-year-old would fill a glaring hole in the Red Devils midfield, as a soon-to-be-36-year-old Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are their main options to feature alongside Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera.

While Fabinho is hardly devoid of creativity, his defensive capabilities would free up Pogba to roam forward, and the pair and Herrera would be an incredibly dynamic trio.

Squawka's Greg Johnson believes Fabinho could help Pogba shine:

Fabinho should be considered a must-buy for United this summer.

Meanwhile, according to the Mirror's David Anderson, the Red Devils are struggling to offload Wayne Rooney because of their desire to receive a transfer fee for him and the forward's enormous £300,000-per-week wages.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Rooney has the option of extending his deal for another season after the 2017/18 campaign, but United "are not prepared to rip up his contract and let him leave for nothing." Nor do they want to "fund a huge chunk of Rooney's salary to help him find a move," according to Anderson.

The 31-year-old has declined noticeably in recent years and was steadily phased out of the side by manager Jose Mourinho over the course of last season.

In May, ESPN's Alex Shaw reflected on just how good Rooney was at the peak of his powers:

However, he is far from those days, as Shaw and football journalist Richard Buxton noted:

Despite his reduced role last season, the former Everton man still contributed eight goals and 10 assists. But, while that could indicate he might still be able to do a job for a team at a lower level than United, it's no surprise the club has found it difficult to convince a suitor to take on the burden of his wages.

Unless he's willing to take a significant pay cut in exchange for regular football, Rooney may well be left kicking his heels on the bench at Old Trafford next season, taking up valuable resources that could be spent elsewhere.