Wayne Rooney Transfer From Manchester United To Arsenal Backed By Gunners Second Biggest Shareholder
Beautiful South? Rooney would put Arsenal back in the title argument |
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been urged to break the bank for Wayne Rooney by Alisher Usmanov, the Gunners' No.2 share-holder. Wenger is already closing in on the £22million signing of Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain. Landing £30m-rated Rooney too would give the Gunners one of the most formidable strike-forces in the Premier League.
The
arrival of the Manchester United and England star would get the club's
fans dreaming of a long-awaited title challenge instead of their
increasingly familiar fight with arch-rivals Spurs for fourth place. Usmanov, who owns 29.9 per cent stake in Arsenal, has given his backing to a high-profile summer spending spree.
He said: "[Rooney] is a great player and [joining Arsenal] would be great
for Rooney, and Arsenal too."
for Rooney, and Arsenal too."
Rooney is said to be unsettled at United and is desperate to play as a central striker instead of the deeper-lying midfield role in which he was often deployed under Sir Alex Ferguson last season. Chelsea
and Paris Saint-Germain are both monitoring developments with the
27-year-old marksman, who is understood to be concerned that he is being
forced out of Old Trafford.
Arsenal staged a late rally to finish fourth in the Premier League after a poor start last season. But
they were put out of the Capital One Cup by then-fourth-division
Bradford and were sunk in the FA Cup at home by Championship side
Blackburn before losing in the knockout stages of the Champions League
to the eventual winners Bayern Munich.
Rooney's capture would back up claims from the club in recent weeks
that they are finally ready to re-establish themselves as a Premier
League superpower. Speaking to CNBC, Usmanov added: "It is high
time for the club to win the highest trophies, in the Champions League,
but I believe in the club's future.
"Arsene knows better than me
what should be done. Of course, we as shareholders point to some
drawbacks in the management of the club but he is a great coach and the
club is progressing in the commercial sense."
Rooney is set for talks with new United boss David Moyes ahead of the new season. But Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has already declared that the north Londoners are enjoying an "escalation of financial firepower" which would enable them to compete for players of his ilk. Speaking earlier this month, Gazidis said: "We could do that, we could do more than that. "We
have a certain amount which we've held in reserve and we also have new
revenue streams coming on board. All of these things mean we can do some
things which would excite you. We can think about all kinds of things."
Rooney's uncertainty at United follows claims from Sir Alex Ferguson back
in May that the striker had handed in a second transfer request.
in May that the striker had handed in a second transfer request.
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