TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Report
D.C. United transfer target Wayne Rooney is visiting the Washington, D.C. area on Thursday and Friday as negotiations on a Designated Player contract for the English superstar slowly advance towards fruition, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
On a trip expected to run 48 hours or less in duration, Rooney will undergo a physical, meet with United executives and tour Audi Field, the Black-and-Red’s new, under-construction stadium, according to the Post’s Steve Goff, who cited three anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation.
“It’s the next step in the process,” one such source told Goff. “By no means is it a done deal, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
It’s possible that Rooney, 32, will also visit the site of United’s planned new training facility in D.C.’s Northern Virginia exurbs, which would help further the house-hunting process that he and his family reportedly already began in previous weeks as talk of a high-profile MLS move from his current club, Everton, unfolded.
Any conversations between Rooney and D.C. head coach Ben Olsen this week will have to take place over the phone, as Olsen and his squad are actually not in their home region at present, having elected to remain on the West Coast between road matches at San Jose – a 3-1 win at Avaya Stadium last weekend – and LAFC, who will host United on Saturday (10 pm ET | ESPN+ - Full TV and streaming info).
The Post’s report also states that D.C. are ready to pay Rooney at least $5 million per season, which would easily outstrip the highest salary in the club’s history, the approximately $1.9 million paid to Marcelo Gallardo, United’s first-ever DP, in 2008. Goff goes on to confirm that D.C. would have to pay Everton a transfer fee for Rooney, who is under contract with the Toffees until next summer.
