Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted his side are likely to make a third bid for Wayne Rooney, but not until after their Premier League clash with Manchester United next Monday, according to the BBC. United have rejected two offers, the latest being £25 million plus add-ons, for the 27-year-old striker, and insist the player is not for sale. Signing Rooney before what is sure to be a fiery affair against United at Old Trafford was always an unlikely if not tantalising prospect for Mourinho, but he has ruled that scenario out. "I don't want Chelsea to do it before we go there," the Portuguese boss said following his side's controversial 2-1 defeat of Aston Villa last night.
"I think this period, by the ethical point of view, is a period where we're going to be quiet."
Mourinho takes Chelsea to Manchester next Monday for what will be new United manager David Moyes's first home game in charge. And he remains intent on signing Rooney, after stating in July that the England striker was his only transfer target this summer. Since then however, the outspoken coach has revealed he has a "plan B and C" if his pursuit comes to nothing, and accepted that United are under no obligation to sell, just as Chelsea rebuffed Barcelona's advances for David Luiz. "You try, because nobody forbids you to try," Mourinho said.
"When you think that you'd like to have one player and the market is open and the official bids are not forbidden, official bids are always accepted in an ethical way. "Of course, the player's owners can do exactly what we did in relation to David Luiz and Barcelona."