Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly made Everton striker Romelu Lukaku his top target this summer, and is looking to be creative to prise him away from the Toffees.
The Belgian international has been in fine form this season, scoring 24 goals in 35 Premier League games to top the goalscoring charts with one game remaining.
According to The Daily Mail, Everton are demanding £100m for Lukaku, but United aren’t keen on spending so much on him and will insert Rooney into their offer in order to bring the asking price down.
It’s added that the Red Devils value the stalwart at £17m, although there is also the factor of Rooney wanting a significant pay-off to cover his contract which could prove to be problematic for them.
Further, Everton are said to only value their former star at £10m, while they will also supposedly need him to take a £100,000-a-week pay-cut in order to seal a return to Goodison Park.
In turn, while it would seem like a sensible idea on the face of it, it’s much more complicated than that and it remains to be seen whether or not Everton are willing to negotiate for their top scorer.
Signing a striker has to be a priority for Mourinho though, as after seeing Zlatan Ibrahimovic pick up a serious knee injury last month with his contract expiring this summer, United will need to bring in a replacement to compliment the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Lukaku would undoubtedly fill that role with the Portuguese tactician preferring a commanding presence in the lone striker role, but it seems as though the numbers don’t add up for a swoop yet and it will take further talks to find a way to satisfying Everton’s demands.