Premier League rivals Stoke City have joined Everton in the race to sign Wayne Rooney this summer, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper report that the Potters are poised to take an ‘amazing gamble’ on signing the 31-year-old attacker from Manchester United this summer, a move which would rival a potential return to his boyhood club, Everton.
It is claimed that manager Mark Hughes has the backing of the club’s sponsors Bet365 to push through a deal, with the online betting company ready to assist in providing him with a £45million financial package to tempt Rooney to the club.
The Mirror also reports that Everton had yet to make any approach for their former teenage star, who is now a proven performer at the top level, despite heavy speculation linking him with a return to Goodison Park.
However, Stoke’s interest could still come as a considerable blow to Everton’s summer transfer ambitions.
Rooney has just one year left to run on his current contract at Old Trafford, but he could leave this summer having fallen out-of-favour under Jose Mourinho.
The England international started just 25 of his 39 appearances in all competitions last season, while he only completed the full 90 minutes on 13 occasions.
He is no longer considered Manchester United’s most prolific goalscoring option, and has fallen behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order as a centre-forward.
But he has also found limited first-team opportunities in his other roles, where he has been deployed as a winger, a secondary striker, and as an attacking-midfielder.
Both Everton and Stoke will likely, however, need to fork out a record-breaking deal to attract Rooney to their respective clubs, with the player currently earning £300,000-per-week at United.