Rumours: Manchester United reject approach from Chelsea for their forward

Wayne Rooney

Manchester United have rejected another approach from Chelsea to sign Wayne Rooney, according to Goal.com.

Jose Mourinho is a well-known admirer of the England centre-forward and has been strongly linked with making moves in order to take him to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea reportedly made two bids for the player last summer after he hinted to them that wanted to make the switch to West London, only to find them rebuffed by United, who were and still are keen to hold onto their talisman.

Those bids were rumoured to be in the region of £25million and this latest bid is said to be £30m, with the Blues not willing to up this bid in the January transfer window.

United are adamant that they will not sell Rooney in January to anyone this month, but are very wary that the striker’s contract expires next summer.

Rooney has so far shown no desire to sign an extension to his current deal and with United struggling to even qualify for the Champions League next season, he would incredibly keen on a switch to Mourinho’s title-challenging Chelsea.

The ever-more-increasingly likely sale of Juan Mata to United for a reported £35-40m will free up funds for Chelsea to make their move without fear of breaching financial fair play rules that come into force this year.

United are thought to prefer to sell to a club overseas than a Premier League rival, but will feel pressured in the summer to sell if no new contract appears to be forthcoming.

Arsenal, Paris St Germain and Real Madrid are all also mooted as potential destinations for the former Everton man.

While they will miss his goals as well, it is the creative nature of Rooney that United will suffer losing most, with the England forward having created 40 opportunities this season, 17 more than Patrice Evra, who is next with 23.

Man United top creative players