With multiplie reports stating Wayne Rooney has agreed a deal “in principle” to move to Major League Soccer, and D.C. United in particular, his manager at Everton had his say on Friday.
Sam Allardyce spoke to the media ahead of Everton’s final game of the Premier League season at West Ham on Sunday and wanted to make it clear that he and Rooney haven’t fallen out, despite many reports that they have.
That said, Allardyce didn’t exactly pour cold water on the reports but it does appear that Rooney will not play this Sunday due to a knee injury.
“If the player wants to go - if any player wants to leave - then I’m comfortable with that. But let’s get this right: Wayne Rooney has not asked to leave and neither has he had a confrontation with me,” Allardyce said. “My understanding of the situation is there seems to have been some negotiation somewhere along the line. I don’t get involved in anything with regards to transfers so all I know is there appears to be interest from DC United. Where that lies and where Wayne lies with it I can’t tell you at the moment. But in terms of clarity of whether Wayne is staying or leaving, I’ll find out a little more later when he comes into training.”
Several reports claim that Rooney is waiting to see if Allardyce leaves Everton at the end of this season, but it appears the English manager isn’t planning to do that (and wants to see out the final year of his two-year contract) despite fan unrest over their direct playing style.
With Everton in a relegation battle when Allardyce arrived, the fact they will likely finish the season in eighth place shows that he’s done a solid job but it’s clear that the Toffees faithful, and perhaps Rooney, do not agree with Big Sam’s long-term vision.
Given these comments from Allardyce and the fact that D.C. United’s head coach Ben Olsen confirmed to TMZ their interest in Rooney when he was hounded at an airport (yes, that happened), there are plenty of wheels in motion in this deal.
