The Mail reports that Wayne Rooney has told that he wants to leave the club in the summer.
The news will reassure United fans who felt that Rooney may be leaving in the summer and they will no doubt now be awaiting news of his contract extension.
In 2010 Rooney citing “lack of ambition” at the club handed in a written transfer request and made it clear that he would be looking to move in the upcoming January window.
This opened the door for a potential move to Manchester City who rapidly became favourites to land his signature.
Rooney then had a miraculous change of heart, the new reported £250k-a-week contract may or may not have had something to do with that.
Whether it‘s different this time remains to be seen. Rumours have abounded about a possible departure since the gradual marginalisation of his role following the arrival of Robin van Persie, culminated in him being dropped for the Champions League game against Real Madrid.
His recent deployment in midfield and regular substitutions has only added to the speculation.
The club have moved quickly to make a statement to say that the player is not for sale and indeed the contract that Rooney signed in 2010 still has two years to run.
Is his request purely an opportunistic one? With it coming a day after the resignation of Sir Alex, is he hoping that the upheaval will put him in a stronger bargaining position as the club attempt to stabilise.
It could be that the imminent arrival of David Moyes into the manager’s seat has hastened his desire to depart; the libel case that Moyes won against Rooney is unlikely to have brought them closer together.
It could however just be that Rooney has gone stale and does need a new challenge to kick start a career that appears to have reached a plateau at Old Trafford.
Allen Whyte