Wayne Rooney Transfer Rumours: Latest News on the Manchester United Star

Yes people, it's that time of the week again when we analyse all the latest gossip surrounding the Manchester United superstar, enigma and all-round headline-maker that is Wayne Rooney.

While for the past few weeks we have hadn't a whole lot to go on aside from rumours and one very Rooney-centric press conference, this week that all changed, with a whole heap of Rooney news coming to light in the past few days...well, at least more than there has been.

With Jose Mourinho weighing in with two cents, and David Moyes' continued resolve to keep the Liverpudlian at Old Trafford, things are at least spicing up a tad.

This saga is dragging on a touch now, but it appears as though we may finally be drawing toward a conclusion.

So let's take a look at the new rumours and news concerning "Wazza" and his potential ground-breaking summer transfer. 

Potential Move to Chelsea?

Jose Mourinho has always been one for stirring up trouble to get what he wants.

The "Special One" has become famed for his ability to create a little friction in the footballing world, and it appears as if we are witnessing some of that classic Jose magic again here.

The Guardian's Jamie Jackson reports on how Jose cleverly addressed the burning question of a potential swap from Old Trafford to Stamford Bridge:

"

It's a funny, tricky question from an ethical point of view as I can't talk about players from other teams.

But it is not my character to speak with hypocrisy, I always tell what I see. He's a player that I like very much. Being fast and direct I like him very much, but he's a Manchester United player.

"

This is exactly what we have come to expect from Mourinho. 

While he is not explicitly stating his interest in Rooney—even attempting to maintain some kind of code of conduct in regards to talking about other teams' players—there is an obvious subversive message that would indicate the very real possibility of a move for the England forward if it was available.

We all know Chelsea have the cash, and if Rooney can be tempted by bigger wages (highly likely considering the stunt he pulled in 2011) then Jose may just get his man.

Mourinho's comments are the foundations of what I'm sure will be a series of complex mind games between the United and Chelsea camps—not only concerning Rooney, but from a rivalry standpoint in general. 

Potential Move to Arsenal?

While there hasn't been as much buzz surrounding Arsenal and a swoop for Rooney of late, long-time head coach Arsene Wenger has insisted that the club could sign the wantaway forward if he became available.

Fielding questions posted after the announcement that Wenger and the club are in negotiations to continue his contract with the Gunners, the 63-year-old stated that Rooney, Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain were all realistic targets. Jamie Lewis of The Independent reports some of Wenger's comments:

"

They are all realistic targets quality-wise, [but] not all of them are available to join us.

We have better financial resources than the years before and it is resources we have created ourselves. That is massively important to us.

"

Credit where credit is due to Arsene here, he genuinely doesn't seem to want to speculate about Wayne when he knows how adamant Moyes has been about the striker staying with the Red Devils.

That doesn't mean that if things change, however, Wenger wont be fighting Jose to Rooney's signature.

Worryingly for United fans, if Arsenal do complete the signing of Higuain and are able to tempt Rooney to the Emirates, then they may be suddenly finding themselves with an inferior attacking lineup to the long-time perennial "best of the rest" in the Premier League.

Last season United convinced Robin van Persie to leave the Gunners for the fields of Manchester.

Is karma about to strike?

Rooney to Go...Anywhere?

And speaking of Van Persie, David Moyes may have really put his foot in his mouth on this one.

While nobody is completely certain of where Rooney will end up if he does leave the club, we can speculate slightly more clearly about whether or not he will be playing for United next season.

One of Wayne's primary concerns has been that he didn't get enough game time last year after the arrival of RVP from Arsenal.

As such, you'd imagine that the last thing a manager who wants to hold onto a player with such concerns would do is publicly announce that Rooney is a crucial player to the side...if Van Persie gets an injury, as Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail reports:

"

Overall my thought on Wayne is that if for any reason we get an injury to Robin van Persie we are going to need him.

"

Needless to say that if Rooney hear's such comments, he isn't going to be the happiest bunny at Old Trafford.

Moyes did go on to elaborate that he was referring to goalscoring prowess more so than playing time—but unfortunately for David, this was also one of Rooney's primary concerns (a lack of goals throughout the season due to RVP's introduction).

This wasn't the wisest comment to make, but those wanting Wayne to stay will hope he doesn't read too much into it.

Surprisingly, foreign interest seems to be all but dead in regards to a possible move now, with no new developments from the likes of Barca, PSG, Monaco and Real Madrid, who had all previously been keen. 

It appears that if Rooney does leave United this summer, it will be for London.

Rooney to Stay at United?

So is there any new positive revelations about those wishing for United's leading scorer under Sir Alex Ferguson to stay?

In truth, other than the constant repetition from Moyes that his striker isn't for sale, not really.

In fact United officials are even willing to let Rooney's contract (which is due to expire in two years) go un-renewed for the time being, as reported by The Guardian—a clear indication that they foresee a possible exit sometime soon.

Rooney recently picked up an injury that will see him sidelined for up to a month-and-a-half.

While this sets Rooney back on a personal level, it may also be detrimental to the efforts of Moyes and others at the club trying to convince him to stay.

Flying home from Bangkok means that Rooney will not be surrounded by United teammates or coaches and is out of the proverbial loop—exactly what Moyes would not want at this stage.

Speaking about the injury and the continued questions being asked about Wayne's future, Jamie Jackson of The Guardian quoted Moyes as saying:

"

I think I've covered all of the things on Wayne. I've given you everything about his injury. What you must remember is that Manchester United is a football club and I've got a team, and this is not about any one individual.

In many ways, I'm only interested in the team. I will answer questions on Wayne, but some of them are just reverting back to things I've covered.

"

It's good to see that David has already followed in the Fergie mantra of "no player is bigger than the team."

This was a policy that Sir Alex implemented throughout his 26 years at the helm, and if Moyes can emulate that then it bodes well for the club.

So having seemed likely last week that Rooney would be staying with United, we are starting to feel that pendulum swing back again to a summer exit.

Fans may be getting tired of this story, but one thing is for certain: Nobody out there can guarantee how this one is going to end.

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