Wayne Rooney will finally become a Manchester United player later today with Everton confident a compromise can be reached over a performance-related clause incorporated within a £26m deal ahead of the transfer deadline.
The Everton chairman Bill Kenwright met with United's chief executive David Gill for talks over the proposed move after yesterday's goalless draw between the two teams at Old Trafford. While the pair departed with the situation as yet unresolved and Rooney still in limbo, negotiations resumed last night over the chunk of the transfer directly related to the player's and United's future success.
Everton are anxious to ensure that those extra monies can realistically be triggered and, to that end, were attempting to link them to the player's future appearances for United and the team's qualification for the Champions League rather than him gaining specific European or domestic honours. Kenwright is still hoping that the performance-related fee will be set at £6m, with United currently offering £5m.
As it stands, the Everton chairman is willing to accept United paying the main transfer fee in two instalments with £10m to be delivered up front and another £10m due next summer.
The second payment will be taken out of Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer budget for the 2005-06 season, with Everton also insistent upon a sell-on clause of 25% of any future fee for Rooney above £26m.
That would effectively mean that, should the teenager be sold by United at some stage for £40m, then Everton would be due a further £3.5m to take the 18-year-old's overall transfer fee to nearer the Merseysiders' initial £30m valuation.
Gill, flanked by Ferguson and United's director and solicitor Maurice Watkins, initially proved resistant to those demands yesterday, arguing that the bottom has long since fallen out of the transfer market. The chief executive cited Cristiano Ronaldo's £12.24m transfer from Sporting Lisbon to Old Trafford and José Antonio Reyes' move from Arsenal for an initial £10.5m as examples of comparable players switching to the Premiership for relatively small fees in the last year.
Yet Everton and David Moyes, who also attended the talks, have made no secret of the fact that clubs have to pay a premium to buy young English players. Kenwright stuck by that argument when discussions resumed last night with United expected to concede to their wishes in a bid to complete the move.
Rooney can realistically expect to undergo a medical at a private hospital in Cheshire this morning, having only ruled out joining Newcastle after the Tyneside club sacked its manager Sir Bobby Robson yesterday.
The England striker should pass those medical tests, for all that he is still recovering from a broken metatarsal sustained during Euro 2004, having pleaded with the Everton hierarchy to smooth his passage out of the club he has supported since his childhood.
Rooney has witnessed the furious reaction of the club's supporters - offensive graffiti has been sprayed on the walls of Goodison Park and the nearby Gwladys Street infants' school - with the travelling fans making their feelings known again during yesterday's stalemate. As a result he has made telephone calls to club officials to express how desperate he is to move away, with Everton having reluctantly conceded that he will not play for them again.