Chelsea and Manchester United go to war over deal for Wayne Rooney

CHELSEA and Manchester United are to wrangle over Wayne Rooney after Jose Mourinho said the England striker is his sole attacking transfer target.

Rooney

CHELSEA and Manchester United are set for a protracted wrangle over Wayne Rooney after Jose Mourinho confirmed last night that the England striker is his sole attacking transfer target. "We haven't bid for anyone else," the Chelsea manager said. "And we won't. It's Rooney or bust."

United rejected Chelsea's opening offer of £20 million on Tuesday and the prospect of a speedy resolution has been hit by a bitter row over the structure of any deal.

Chelsea are furious that Juan Mata and David Luiz were dragged into the discussions after reports that the club offered United one of them as part of a cash-plus-player deal. The Europa League winners accused their rivals of attempting to unsettle two of their biggest assets.

United are bemused by the allegations and still publicly insist that Rooney is not for sale, although they may change their stance if the player issues a formal transfer request.

Chelsea will return with an increased bid that they hope to fund in part through the sale of either Fernando Torres or Demba Ba, as outlined by Mourinho last night.

He is hopeful that Chelsea can seal the deal after Rooney let it be known on Tuesday that he is "angry and confused" at his treatment by United, a strong hint that he wants to leave Old Trafford after nine years. The 27-year-old is short of credible options as he has no desire to move abroad and is not convinced by interest from Arsenal.

Mourinho denied that Mata and Luiz had been mentioned by either party in negotiations and offered a veiled criticism of United's alleged tactics by emphasising that Chelsea had acted ethically throughout.

"We don't want to make public what has to be private, which is the official bid we made," Mourinho said after seeing his side beat a Singha All Star XI 1-0 in Bangkok yesterday in his first match in charge since returning to the club. Frank Lampard missed the friendly because of an Achilles injury.

"The official bid is about a certain amount of money, doesn't involve players, and does not involve players in the possibility of the negotiations. There are none involved in the deal. I think this situation now is clear because nothing is a secret any more.

"We made an economic bid of a certain amount. Now they accept or not. Not Juan Mata, not David Luiz. We did what we had to do in a proper way, in an ethical way, and we're happy with our behaviour. It was clean. You have to respect, of course, Man United and you have to be ethical in this process.

"From now I won't say one more word about Wayne Rooney because you all know we want him. Now it's up to Man United."

There was an added twist to the saga last night when Ed Woodward, the United executive vice-chairman, quit the club's pre-season tour to Australia to carry out urgent transfer business.

Senior United officials confirmed that Woodward had flown to Europe to hold important talks over a transfer target, although the matter did not relate to Rooney's future. Woodward was tight-lipped over the nature of the business but it could involve Cesc Fabregas, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder, for whom United lodged a £26 million bid on Monday.

The Barclays Premier League champions are believed to have been given encouragement that Fabregas would be willing to join them, despite claims to the contrary by Tito Vilanova, the Barcelona coach. United are also continuing to monitor the situation of Cristiano Ronaldo, their former player, at Real Madrid.