Paper Round: Wayne Rooney's agent flies to China to get deal done - or does he?

Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney remains the talk of the town on Thursday as The Mirror, as well as several other newspapers, claim the 31-year-old’s agent, Paul Stretford, has flown to Beijing to open talks with “a series of clubs” ahead of a possible move before the Chinese transfer deadline on Tuesday.

For those of us unfamiliar with how much of the map of the world China accounts for, the report continues: “He [Stretford] is ready to take internal flights to extend talks with interested clubs.” We think this means this is serious.

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Though Rooney dominates Thursday’s back pages there are conflicting stances being taken. A couple of Thursday’s papers also run with the less exciting news that Rooney will more likely wait it out until the end of the season at Old Trafford before leaving, and The i’s back page goes as far as to suggest Rooney won’t even leave the country.

Paper Round’s view: We can’t help but feel a little sad about the prospect of a hushed, hurried move, mid-season with no fanfare or send off for a “club legend” as Jose Mourinho described him in Tuesday’s press conference. We wonder if the absence of Rooney might be felt in the same kind of nostalgic way as the closure of Woolworths - you’d ceased to understand the purpose of it, but as an institution, you missed it when it was gone.

But before we get too emotional about bygone days and the demise of British institutions, making way for new dominant global, economic forces, history does tell us that often the most tedious story is the closest to reality. Does Rooney really need the Chinese Super League?

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Elsewhere Santi Cazorla makes Thursday’s back pages with The Mirror reporting he will miss out on the rest of the season – at least. Cazorla picked up a “horror injury” in November against Ludogorets in the Champions League, resulting in surgery. Arsene Wenger was hoping the 32-year-old might return to the pitch for the end of the season, and his continued absence, says the paper, will further dent the club’s chances of silverware.

Paper Round’s view: At the point Cazorla was ruled out for an unspecified amount of time, Arsenal had been ravaged by injuries. These were injuries that the Gunners may retrospectively argue ended up shaping their season – which looks to be another disappointing one. Was Cazorla the straw that broke the camel’s back? Perhaps, but regardless the damage is done. Cazorla’s absence will make little difference now.

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Sticking with North London, the Mail Online reports that under-pressure Arsene Wenger will resist lucrative offers from China, should he depart the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season. According to the report, Wenger is unlikely to be short of offers from China as well as clubs in the Middle East, though he may have little interest in taking them up.

Paper Round’s view: Wenger has said he will continue coaching next season, whether or not that is with Arsenal. It’s almost impossible to imagine Wenger anywhere else in the Premier League, and although in China the Frenchman would join a pretty decent line-up of one-time Premier League managers, including Andre Villas-Boas and Manuel Pellegrini, we’re not sold on the idea of Wenger leaving European football.

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