I rejected Newcastle United transfer whilst at Everton despite talks with Alan Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson

For a decade and a half under Mike Ashley, Newcastle United rarely competed in the transfer market. A policy of signing players from abroad with a view to making profit on them down the line worked for a while, but ensured the Magpies were always operating under a low ceiling.

However, in the years before Ashley took charge as owner of the club, Newcastle United were at the forefront of some of the biggest transfers in English football. They briefly held the world record following their £15m purchase of Alan Shearer in 1996.

Less than a decade later, they were again being linked with one of this country’s rising stars - Wayne Rooney. Rooney had burst onto the scene as a teenager at Everton and, despite having just two seasons of senior football under his belt, joined Manchester United in August 2004 for £25.6m, aged just 18.

Rooney would go on to become Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer, break Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring record and lift every trophy there is to win. But what would have happened if he moved to St James’ Park instead?

Newcastle United’s Wayne Rooney transfer miss

As the 2004 summer transfer window ticked towards closing, Rooney’s future at Goodison Park was far from certain. The Toffees were desperate to keep hold of Rooney, but with interest building, it seemed impossible for them to keep the teenager beyond the deadline.

Newcastle United were the first club to blink, submitting an offer of around £20m - one that Everton would go on to reject.

Newcastle’s push to sign Rooney was noted in Manchester, however, with the Red Devils quickly submitting a bigger bid and eventually securing his signature. Having impressed at Euro 2004 just months earlier, Sir Alex Ferguson had secured a big coup, one that would transform the English game.

Wayne Rooney’s Newcastle United transfer admission

As Ferguson celebrated his new signing, the Magpies slumped on the field and Robson’s time as Newcastle's manager came to an end. Signing Rooney could have been one of the final acts of his time in the St James’ Park dugout and may have even saved his job, alas, these are the ‘Sliding Doors’ moments that litter football.

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Speaking on Amazon Prime ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night, Rooney revealed that conversations with Robson and Shearer had taken place around the time of his move to Old Trafford, but they weren’t enough to tempt him into a move to the north east: “Yeah, obviously there was interest from Newcastle United when I was at Everton,” Rooney replied when asked about that time period.

“I was 18 years of age and I actually spoke to Alan Shearer as well, spoke to Bobby [Robson] and it actually probably put more pressure on Manchester United to come and sign me. He was such a gentleman and it would have been great to play for him I’m sure.”

He added: “I wanted the number nine but Shearer wouldn’t have given it to me!”

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