Chelsea are set to up their bid for Manchester United’s want away striker Wayne Rooney to £30million as Jose Mourinho prioritises the England international’s arrival at Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Londoners had a bid in the region of £23million plus around £3million in add ones turned down for the player last week as United maintain their stance that he is not for sale at present due to Rooney’s failure to hand in a formal transfer request.
United are prepared to let Rooney leave as David Moyes accepts that he is unhappy at the club and unwilling to fight for a place in the starting team but officials at the Premier League holders are not going to negotiate with Chelsea until the player foregoes the monetary extras that will come his way should he be sold without a formal request to leave.
Chelsea will match Rooney’s £240,000 a week deal at United and Mourinho has sent signals that he would be an integral part of his team this season, with with Demba Ba or Fernando Torres making way for him in the squad.
Mourinho and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich have determined that a new striker is needed at the club as they look to compete on both domestic and European fronts in the Portuguese manager’s first season back at the club and will sanction a deal of up to £30million pounds for the player.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku who impressed on loan at West Bromwich Albion last season enough that Mourinho has singled him out as a player who will play a part this year says that he would welcome Rooney’s addition to the squad ‘with open arms’.
“You know when you are playing for a team like Chelsea there is going to be competition,” the Belgian said. “If he does sign, it could be a good partnership, but it is the manager’s choice.
“I like competition and have done from the first time I came here. You have to accept that you have to work hard to make it a successful squad. If he is part of our team, I will welcome him with open arms.”
Mourinho has already said that he will likely leave Torres, along with his international team mate Juan Mata, out of Chelsea’s opening fixture against Hull as the pair travel back from a friendly in Ecuador only days before but the former Real Madrid manager has said that he looks forward to helping Torres rediscover his form but hinted that he would only be used in certain circumstance.
“I know his best qualities, and the best way for a team to play to try to get the best out of him,” Mourinho said. ”He’s a striker, more comfortable when he has space behind for those runs to get behind defenders.
“He has it more difficult when opponents are very close, when opponents are compact and when he has to play in small spaces. He’s more a player to go into a space than to play with the ball on his feet. When Chelsea play with that philosophy he can [rediscover his best form]. When we play against a very close team and you have to play him in small spaces, he will have more difficulty.”
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