Twenty years since Rooney became a Red

The fervour and excitement that greeted the pursuit of this precociously gifted teenager is easy to convey.

Rooney had burst through at Everton and quickly become the hottest young property in the game. Early whispers of interest from United seemed obvious but the die-hard Toffee, who had celebrated an FA Youth Cup final goal by displaying a T-shirt bearing the message: 'Once a Blue, always a Blue', might not be a straight-forward target.

As he adapted to international football like a seasoned veteran, confirming his natural ability and confidence, scoring goals at Old Trafford, against Liechtenstein and Denmark offered a tantalising glimpse into what could occur on a regular basis in the future.

More recently, his incredible impact at Euro 2004 for the late Sven Goran Eriksson's side had not only illustrated his world-class potential but accelerated his urge to play regularly at the highest level.

Yet the question remained: could United pull this audacious swoop off?

Sir Alex Ferguson clearly wanted the exciting striker but, as ever in football, timing was going to be crucial. And we had already signed a new forward in Leeds United's Alan Smith. However, it became abundantly clear that Rooney was determined to leave his boyhood club as he submitted a transfer request. Reluctantly, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright was resigned to doing a deal if the price was right.

Ferguson admits he always regretted the club not acquiring another generational English talent in Paul Gascoigne, when the midfielder joined Tottenham instead in 1988, and there was a suspicion that he would do anything to avoid a repeat scenario.

The Reds boss described his target as "the best young player the country has seen in the past 30 years".

When an 11-year-old fan held up a sign saying: 'Please buy Rooney' during the Champions League tie against Dinamo Bucharest, it struck a chord. It was a simple sentiment but one shared by every Manchester United supporter and young Joe Ruane would end up being part of the official unveiling of our new signing at Old Trafford.

There was still much wrangling before that point was reached, though. Talk of Newcastle United leading the chase for the 18-year-old hit the headlines and, of course, they had beaten the Reds to the punch when it came to landing Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers in 1996.

A £20 million bid from the Tynesiders was rejected but increased the pulse rate and tension with their conviction to stump up the cash to sign the centre-forward becoming a reality.

Bear in mind that the deadline on 31 August was rapidly approaching and, despite all the speculation in the media, time was running out.

Thankfully, an agreeable fee was submitted to Everton, reportedly £20 million with £7 million in add-ons, and Rooney was pictured at Old Trafford, casually dressed and on the brink of realising the United fans' dreams. There were still nerves as the clock ticked on but a six-year contract signed and it would just be a case of waiting for his broken metatarsal, suffered at Euro 2004, to heal before seeing him pull on the red shirt for the first time.

That he would produce one of the most astounding debuts ever seen at the club, against Fenerbahce, was only the start. The anticipation, hype and excitement that greeted Wazza's arrival would turn out to be entirely justified.

WATCH WAZZA PLAY AT OLD TRAFFORD

There is a wonderful opportunity to see Wayne Rooney perform at the Theatre of Dreams again next weekend (Saturday 7 September, 14:00 BST), when he is set to play in the Legends match against Celtic.

Tickets are still available for all the family to take up this fabulous opportunity to watch our all-time leading goalscorer playing in the red shirt again.