After a season of benchwarming and exclusion from the England squad, Wayne Rooney has called it a day at Manchester United and secured a return home to Merseyside, rejoining the club that gave him the chance to become one of the most successful English footballers of all time. Rooney’s free transfer to Everton was agreed last week and he will feature in Ronald Koeman’s squad from the beginning of the season in August, with the aim of getting more game time and clawing back his place in the England squad.
The last few seasons haven’t been great for the England striker turned attacking midfielder, with a lack of not only game time but a limited number of trophies and accolades that have been almost expected through his career at United. After Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season, he hasn’t always been the first name on the team sheet and has barely featured in current manager Jose Mourinho’s plans. Although he is 31 and still in his prime, his form has also dipped, possibly due to the lack of confidence from managers and also the decision by Gareth Southgate not to include England’s highest all-time scorer in his friendly and international qualifier squad.
There was plenty of transfer speculation throughout 2016/17, with most linking Rooney to either China or the United States. It came as a bit of a surprise that Rooney decided to remain in the Premier League with many other legends seeing out their days in lucrative but less challenging leagues, but his decision to remain in England has cemented his commitment to attempting to play for England again and not cashing in by playing Mickey Mouse football abroad.
Although Everton have just sent their top scorer and talisman the other direction to United, they aren’t exactly in a bad position, even without Lukaku up front. They should be able to do some sound business before the transfer window closes to replace their big man up front and they have some real talent in their squad. How Rooney will fit into the team is anyone’s question, with players like Ross Barkley, James McCarthy, Morgan Schneiderlin and new man Davy Klaassen all providing plenty of holding midfield options. Even if he did play up front, he has Yannick Bolasie, Sandro Ramirez and Kevin Mirallas all to contend with, alongside any other big name forwards Everton decide to splash the cash on using proceeds from the Lukaku sale.
One option that could open up is if Ross Barkley ends up playing elsewhere next season. The England international is out of favour at Goodison Park and seems to be a want-away, something that Ronald Koeman certainly doesn’t have time for. Rooney could pick up the pieces in this role, using his vast amount of experience and excellent attacking technique to mastermind a creative attacking role. It might be wise to back Everton win some silverware in the coming season, there are some great odds available.
With Everton surely angling at a top four or five finish, the big question remains of whether Everton can produce some silverware with their new signing and improved squad. The bookies are certainly favoring another good season for the Toffees and with so many transfer options now available to them, a European or domestic trophy certainly won’t be the stuff of fairy tales next season.
