Manchester United Transfer Rumours: Wayne Rooney 'Happy' Amid Chelsea Talk

Manchester United remain confident of hanging onto the signature of Wayne Rooney despite talk of a move to Chelsea once again coming to the fore in recent days.

David McDonnell of the Mirror reports that the club believe their star forward is happy in his current surroundings, shrugging off any uncertainties about his Old Trafford future following recent transfer windows.

An excerpt from the story reads:

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The champions believe Rooney is now happy at the club and has no desire to leave, despite questioning his Old Trafford future last summer ...

The breakdown of the player's relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson saw Rooney become disillusioned with life at United and consider a move after nine years.

But the 28-year-old has been given a new lease of life under Ferguson’s successor David Moyes and has been the Reds' stand-out performer this season.

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Martin Lipton of the Daily Mirror reported on Thursday that Chelsea are ready to make another approach for Rooney, following two failed bids during the summer.

Rooney is United's joint-top scorer this season, level on 10 goals in all competitions with fellow attacker Robin van Persie. The pair have accounted for 15 of the side's 22 league goals so far this term.

The 28-year-old currently has 18 months remaining on his deal, which will expire in the summer of 2015. In August, Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail suggested the striker could wait out his contract in a bid to engineer a move away from Old Trafford, saying:

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Rooney may, therefore, decide to sit it out on his current deal and try to get himself a move somewhere next summer. A move to Chelsea may not be an option in a year’s time, however, as Mourinho will have bought an alternative by then.

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Rooney currently rakes in earnings of £250,000-a-week, per Ladyman's article, which suggests the striker's basic salary may be cut in his next contract offer, instead relying more upon performance-based incentives.

Given the way Rooney has shone under Moyes, even that may not be such a bad move for the former Everton man, whose consistent standards under his ex-Toffees mentor have been a rare bright spot in an awful United campaign to date.

It's well known that Chelsea's own strike force has been lacking this term. Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba have hit just four goals between them in the Premier League.

Mat Le Tissier tweeted closer to the start of the season, hinting that had the Blues managed to clinch United's talisman over the summer, their title chances would be far more hopeful:

Since moving to the Theatre of Dreams in 2003, Rooney has had several moments of indecisiveness over his future and current speculation is but the latest episode in the saga.

However, United maintain their position of power in the whole scenario, confident that the prying eyes of their Premier League foes will remain just that for the foreseeable future.