Rooney ready to sign new Man U deal, only without pay cut

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney is reportedly ready to sign a new deal at United if it does not involve a pay cut.

According to the Mirror, Rooney is scheduled for talks with new boss David Moyes in the next 72 hours in a bid to resolve his long-term future at Old Trafford after a summer of unrest, adding that the striker would be happy to stay at United if his differences with the club can be sorted out after Sir Alex Ferguson's public transfer claims.

However, the report said that with just two years left on his 225,000 pounds-a-week agreement, talks on a new contract will not get past first base if Rooney is asked to accept a reduction in wages as the Rooney camp believes that since he is coming into the peak years of his career, he does not deserve a pay cut to stay on at United.

According to the report, Rooney does not want a repeat of his last contract saga when United allowed his deal to run down to just over a year, adding that although Moyes is in a position to assure Rooney, it is United's new chief executive Ed Woodward who will make the call on offering the England star a new deal.

The report also said that Rooney wants an attacking role in the side, preferably behind van Persie, and he will make that point to Moyes.

However, Rooney should not be worried, said the report, given that top teams at home and abroad, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, would all beat a path to his door if United do not want to keep him.

But Rooney has always vehemently denied he asked to leave and he wants the club to put the record straight, the report added.