Transfer news: Jose Mourinho willing to wait for Wayne Rooney as Chelsea hold back on January signings

Mourinho remains willing to play the long game for United's star England striker

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (GETTY IMAGES)

Jose Mourinho will resist the temptation to sign a top-class striker this month as the Portuguese manager remains confident of sealing a deal for Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney in the summer, according to reports.

Chelsea have scored the lowest amount of goals of all the clubs currently occupying the Premier League's top four places and have targeted a new striker as scouts and agents continue to send in dossiers to the Stamford Bridge club on a variety of different options.

The Daily Telegraph, however, report that Mourinho has little interest in any of them and would rather wait six months to launch another attempt to lure Rooney to London.

As United continue to falter under David Moyes - out of the FA Cup, behind in their two-legged Capital One Cup semi-final with Sunderland and seventh in the league - the former Real Madrid manager's confidence of ensnaring Rooney continues to grow.

The situation could, of course, change should the club receive encouragement on any potential deals for Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa, Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuaín or Monaco’s Radamel Falcao, but Mourinho is determined to land the England international.

Rooney’s contract is set to expire in eighteen months and he was subject to a host of offers, eventually reaching £30m, from Chelsea last summer.

Despite appearing to have sold Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg for £18m, Mourinho remains adamant that he won't need to add to his squad this month.

"It is not a priority, it is not an option. We have three (forwards). The market is open, but for us, it is almost closed," he said.

"We are happy with the squad we have. This squad is good enough for my first season. If we can improve the squad to prepare the next season, we will do that. But we know where we are, we know what we need for the future."