John Rooney is poised to leave Chester FC and move to arch rivals Wrexham.

Reports from the Racecourse suggest the 25-year-old has agreed to sign for the Dragons with the deal expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Chester offered Rooney a new contract before he flew to Cyprus to get married last month and the club were hopeful he would put pen to paper upon his return.

However, The Chronicle understands Wrexham boss Gary Mills then made contact with Rooney's agent and offered a more attractive financial package.

Rooney has been with the Blues since November 2013 and has made 128 appearances for the club, scoring 29 goals including a stunning free-kick in last season's 3-2 win against Wrexham at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium.

John Rooney opens the scoring from this free-kick to make it 1-0 during October's derby win against Wrexham
John Rooney opens the scoring from this free-kick to make it 1-0 during October's derby win against Wrexham

Last month the Liverpool-born midfielder dismissed talk of a move elsewhere, insisting he was focused on remaining with Chester.

He said: "I've been offered a new deal but I've been away and I just haven't had chance to sit down with Macca (McCarthy) and get things sorted, but hopefully I'll be able to do that soon.

"I have no idea where some of the rumours came from but they're not true.

"I've told Macca that I'd be willing to stay. I've been at the club for two-and-a-half years now and I love playing here.

"The fans can see the passion I've got, I'm the same on the pitch as I am on the training ground. Hopefully we'll get something sorted out soon."

But the situation appears to have progressed over the past week with Rooney deciding to turn down the offer from Chester and cross the divide to link up with the Dragons.

The loss of Rooney will be another blow to Blues boss Jon McCarthy with last season's leading scorer Ross Hannah having moved to Barrow and Ben Heneghan expected to depart too.

McCarthy is currently on holiday with his family but has been in regular contact with assistant Ian Sharps and will return to the UK on Thursday.