Everton have failed to follow up their interest in Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney with a concrete offer, according to a Mirror report.
The newspaper claims that despite the fact Toffees manager Ronald Koeman publicly admitted he wanted to bring the 31-year-old forward to Merseyside, the club are yet to make an official approach.
It is said Rooney’s astronomical wages – and potential fee – have put Everton off their pursuit, which led them to look at other options, such as Davy Klaassen – who arrived from Ajax last week.
The report also states that interest from China has cooled, as it seems the 31-year-old would be unwilling to move his young family to the far East and the new 100% tax on foreign signings has meant Chinese clubs are looking to nurture homegrown talent.
Man United are reluctant to let him leave without a transfer fee, and it is said that they are also not prepared to fund a part of his salary.
With Rooney’s wages at a reported £300,000 a week, there aren’t many teams who could afford to sign him unless he was prepared to take a significant drop and it means he may be left to fight for his place at United next term.
The attacker was by no means a first choice striker at United last term, but he still managed to make 38 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals – mostly from the bench, though.
Rooney is the Red Devils’ record goalscorer and his current deal runs out in the summer of 2018, although he does have the option to add another year.