he key date as Rooney weighs up interest

The day of 3 August could be pivotal to how Wayne Rooney and Manchester United respond to a reported £27million bid for the strikerfrom a Chinese Super League club.That is the date of Rooney’s planned testimonial at Old Trafford against boyhood club Everton, with all proceeds going to charity.According to theMirror, an unnamedclub are said to be prepared to offer the United skipper a staggering £500,000-a-week, three-year contract to make him the face of the mega-rich China league.The club – believed to be Shanghai Shenua – intend to take Rooney fromEngland at the end of the season andhave already tabled a formal offer.However, United have decided to mark Rooney’s 12 years of service with the testimonial match in his honour.Tickets have not yet gone on sale for the event as there is a possibility Louis van Gaal’s team will have European qualifiers if they finish fourth in this season’s Premier League.Rooney, who turned 30 last October, will have three years left on his current £250,000-a-week deal at the end of the current campaign.After 12 years service, it would be a remarkable deal for United if they were to recoup the fee they paid Everton for Rooney as a teenager.Chinese clubs have flexed their considerable financial muscle in recent weeks with a glut of big-money signings including Ramires, Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira and Freddy Guarin.In other Manchester United news, David de Gea will undergo a scan on Friday on the knee injury he sustained before the club’s 2-1 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland on Thursday night.