Wayne Rooney, the all-time leading scorer for Manchester United and the English national team, is leaving Manchester to rejoin his first career club, Everton.
It’s a major milestone in the striker’s career. Rooney has always been an Everton fan, but left the club for Manchester United 13 years ago. Back then, he was one of the top young talents in global soccer. But now 31 years old, Rooney has perhaps only three or four years of top quality football left in him. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has clearly decided Rooney’s best days are behind him.
Still, for both Rooney and Everton, this is a perfect fit.
For a start, Rooney fills the Lukaku gap. Lukaku was Everton’s top striker and scorer during the 2016-2017 season, with 25 Premier League goals. On Monday, however, Lukaku was sold to Manchester United for a total sum of $97 million – $120 million (in the European soccer leagues, players are bought and sold by teams rather than traded). Quick, powerful, and skilled, Lukaku will be hard to replace.
If his fitness holds up, however, Rooney will have as good as chance of any as doing so. While he lacks Lukaku’s speed, he provides a similar physical presence on the field. He’s a proven goal scorer — holding the record for both Manchester United and England’s national team — and when he’s motivated, a key playmaker. That suits Everton well. Rooney will be able to sit in front of another new signing, Davy Klaassen, and unleash the speed and talent of wingers Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas.
Rooney will also provide crucial leadership and influence across the field. This should help Everton blunt the creativity and playmaking speed of other top teams. That will be crucial if Everton is to secure a top-four finish – and Champions League spot – this season.
Nevertheless, there’s also a powerful psychological element to this signing. With Rooney coming home and approaching the end of his career, he has a massive incentive to perform well. Rooney admits as much. Asked on Monday what winning a trophy for Everton would mean, Rooney responded, “That would be the pinnacle because I remember the FA Cup final in 1995, I was there as a 9 year old and for that to be the last trophy … Everton should have won more trophies since then.”
He’s right. As a fellow Everton fan, I remember that 1-0 win over Manchester United. A similar victory has been a long time coming.
Even then, Everton has other reasons to be confident in its opening Aug. 12 game. Benefiting from billionaire financier Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s manager, Ronald Koeman, has spent the summer signing other top players beyond Rooney and Klaassen. These include the young but exceptional goalie, Jordan Pickford, and England defender, Michael Keane. With Leicester City’s speedy winger, Demarai Gray, now in Koeman’s sites, Everton is well on its way to having a formidable team.
All in all, it’s not hard to see why Everton fans are excited about this season.
