Wayne Rooney tells Manchester United teammates he has signed for Everton ahead of return to boyhood club

The move comes as Romelu Lukaku prepares to go the other way after the two clubs finally agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £75million

Wayne Rooney has told his teammates that he is moving back to Everton (Getty)

Wayne Rooney has told his Manchester United teammates he is signing for Everton.

It has always been Rooney's first choice to return to his boyhood club with the Toffees offering a financial package of around £150,000 per week and United waiving a transfer fee.

The move comes as Romelu Lukaku prepares to go the other way after the two clubs finally agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £75million.

While Rooney's own transfer isn't specifically linked it is understood it has been crucial in the overall smoothness of the negotiations between the parties, unlike Chelsea’s own talks with Everton for the Belgian.

A medical is set for Saturday with only small details of the deal outstanding before Rooney's return to the club he left as an 18-year-old in 2004 is officially completed.

England captain Rooney fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho at United this season before losing his place in Gareth Southgate’s international squad as well prompting him to assess his options this summer.

United would have been willing to let Rooney go to the Chinese Super League at the end of February but, as reported by The Independent at the time, the 31-year-old still felt he had more to offer at Premier League level and was also determined to ensure he was in the England team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

That would have been almost impossible, had he made the move to China, and it is also understood Rooney’s representatives were put off by the standard of football there.

The Independent has since learned that a prospective offer from Everton was also greatly playing on the player’s mind, and that the Merseyside club have been investigating a move “for a few months”.

Everton’s offer marks a considerable paycut given Rooney currently earns around double, but it is believed he is willing to accept the offer such is the pull of his former club.

Rooney will join Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez and Henry Onyekuru as part of an extensive summer recruitment drive on the blue half of Merseyside.