Watson tips Rooney to go

Everton legend Dave Watson thinks Wayne Rooney’s departure from Goodison Park is inevitable.

Rooney is reportedly on the brink of rejecting the club record £2.5m (€3.8m)-a-year contract he was offered a fortnight ago, a move that would trigger frenzied transfer talk as the Toffeemen look to cash in on their prized asset.

Manchester United remain favourites to sign the 18-year-old but chief executive David Gill has repeatedly claimed no deal is imminent and the Red Devils would certainly not want to pay anything like the £40m (€60m) fee that has been mentioned in some quarters.

United’s stance will put Everton in an uncomfortable position if Rooney, who has two years of his current deal still remaining, opts to hold out for a move to Old Trafford, particularly as – according to Watson – the youngster’s future has already been mapped out.

“It seems obvious that Wayne Rooney has been lined up to go to another club,” Watson told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme.

“I am sure David Moyes has done everything he can but I don’t think it would have mattered what Everton offered him, agents control the situation and Wayne is not going to be staying.”

While Watson, part of the title-winning Everton side of the 1980s, thinks supporters will be annoyed with Rooney when he eventually leaves the club he has supported all his life, he has urged them to take a more considered view.

The cash-strapped Toffeemen need funds to build a new ground and reinforce David Moyes’ struggling squad, disputes over which are thought to have led to Trevor Birch’s shock departure as chief executive last week.

And if Rooney’s sale means Moyes can try inject some flesh blood into a side that finished just one place above the relegation zone last term, Watson believes it will be worthwhile.

“It is a massive year for Everton and while I don’t expect the fans to react too well when Wayne leaves, you have to take the longer term view,” he said.

“If Everton get a lot of money to make the club stronger and David Moyes is given some of it to spend, the overall impact might not be as bad as they first think.”