Wayne Rooney has signed an 18-month deal with Derby County, talkSPORT understands.
The Manchester United legend will join the Championship side in January as player-coach, bringing an end to his stay at MLS club DC United.
Derby County owner Mel Morris had earlier told talkSPORT his club were in talks about making the surprise signing of the former England captain, who landed at Heathrow in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Asked about how the deal came about, the Rams chief said: “The starting point was that we understood Wayne was keen to return to the UK, and of course we had a look at the situation to see if we could do something on the back of that.
“I think the key thing is the conversation he had with [manager] Phillip Cocu was absolutely critical to the interest Wayne has.
“From my side of it, why wouldn’t we want a player with his background? His playing career has been phenomenal; he’s demonstrated his leadership qualities over in America – who wouldn’t want at least the opportunity for this? I can guarantee Phillip Cocu is excited as I am about it.”
Rooney is both England and United’s greatest goal scorer, with 53 and 253 respectively, while he has scored 25 goals and created 13 in 46 appearances for DC United, helping them reach last season’s MLS play-offs.
Derby began the Championship season with a 2-1 win against Huddersfield where Tom Lawrence scored twice in Cocu’s first game in charge.
Reports claim the club would have to secure commercial support for the Rooney deal to overcome FFP penalties, though Morris told talkSPORT: “We’ve maintained all along that we want to be compliant with Financial Fair Play, and we see nothing in this deal that would change that stance.”
