Wayne Rooney's future has been a hot topic of discussion around Old Trafford all season.

The Manchester United captain has lost his status as an automatic starter since Jose Mourinho was appointed as manager and has struggled to get enough playing time under the Portuguese.

He broke Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time goalscoring record for the club last month which has prompted fresh speculation he could be on the move.

While the January transfer window for European clubs has been shut for some time now, the Chinese one stays open for a further month and Asia is a potential destination Rooney has been heavily linked with over the last few days.

It wasn't helped by Jose Mourinho being unable to confirm the 31-year-old would still be a Man United player come the end of the season during a recent press conference.

Although there are rumoured to be some huge offers already on the table from the Far East, according to The Independent, Rooney is not interested in joining the Chinese Super League.

They have claimed that Rooney sent representatives to China a few months ago to scout out possible clubs but importantly, the intermediaries found it to be 'beneath his level'.

Instead, the forward would prefer to stay in England and the Premier League even though only a few teams will be in a position to offer the kind of wages required.

The report added that their sources believe it is far more likely Rooney will end his 13-year association with Man Utd in the summer.

Logistically, trying to complete a transfer to China before next Tuesday's deadline is difficult to achieve - so we can probably expect to see Rooney don the Man United kit at least a few more times this season.

He will not feature in the Red Devils' Europa League second leg clash with St Etienne on Wednesday, however.

Mourinho confirmed that his captain will not make the trip to France as he has only just recovered from a muscle injury.