Reports: Wayne Rooney has agreed in principle to a D.C. United deal

In news that has developed very quickly, D.C. United has gone from interested in Wayne Rooney last year, to in serious talks with him earlier this week, to now an agreement in principle with the all-time leading scorer for the English men’s national team.

Rumors having been pouring in about Wayne Rooney’s pricetag, so here is some of what has been rumored:

• The price is supposedly at $17M, which means that Rooney’s yearly salary would be at $6.8M per year. This would put him in the top 6 or so MLS players.
• Both Everton and Manchester United may still be on the hook for some of Rooney’s salary, based on the way his transfer from Man U to Everton worked. The Mirror reports that D.C. United is going to pay £3M a year, and that the rest of the cash could be found from his previous clubs.
• And finally, all of this is still dependent on Sam Allardyce’s future at Everton. If they fire him and replace him with a manager who would commit to starting Rooney, he might stay; Everton’s owner, however, has continued to back Big Sam.

As Steve Goff wrote last night, D.C. United are taking a big risk signing Rooney. While he has a name that few can match in world soccer, it remains to be seen if he can put it together for MLS. He is obviously being signed for D.C. United to play as the lone striker, and so he will need to rely on smarts and positioning to be effective, as he has lost a step of his pure speed.

More as we know it.