The Wayne Rooney saga rumbles on but the end is in sight.

Jose Mourinho's public declaration of his desire to sign Wayne Rooney has now made it the summer's biggest story as Manchester United apparently rejected Chelsea's £20m bid for the disgruntled striker.

There were rumours, too, that Chelsea offered cash as well the exchange of a player, the names being circulated were David Luiz and Juan Mata, to try and entice Manchester United into letting Rooney go.

If United were offered Mata and a big lump of cash for Rooney, a player who has on numerous occasions expressed a desire to leave a club that has been nothing but good to him, then I would have bitten Chelsea's hand off.

One of the key areas on the pitch where United need strengthening is in the midfield and if Moyes turned down the idea of bringing Mata, who is one of the finest midfielders in Europe, to Manchester than he must be absolutely convinced that Cesc Fabregas will making his way to Old Trafford sometime soon.

Personally, I can't see the Fabregas coming back to the Premier League so soon after he left and considering that Rooney will continue to air his discontent United will do well to offload him as soon as possible.

Despite all his undeniable skill and talent Rooney's time at United has long been up. To be honest with you it is a credit to United fans that they didn't turn on him when he tried to manoeuvre a move to Manchester City three years ago during the middle of the season only to be rewarded (bizarrely) with a new contract.

Moyes can continue to tell us that Rooney is still very much a big part of his plans but he if is not willing to sell to Chelsea, a direct rival, than the more likely outcome will be that he is sold to another club in Europe and there are only a select few who will be able to pay his astronomical wages.

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