Why Wayne Rooney at Everton is a win-win
Everton are continuing their stellar transfer window by announcing the return of Wayne Rooney to his boyhood club.
Rooney will join new signings Jordan Pickford, Micheal Keane, Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramírez as Everton looks to compete for Champions League football. The move has been met with mixed reviews but overall, it’s a good move for both club and player.
Each move that is being made by Everton has the goal of setting them up for success in the post-Lukaku world and the Rooney signing helps signify that. Everton likely has their striker for the future already on the roster in Sandro Ramirez but he is an unproven 21-year-old. Ramirez has all the talent in the world but he needs time to acclimate to the Premier League.
Throwing Ramirez into the fire wouldn’t be the right move for Everton and signing Rooney allows them to avoid that route. Rooney is a class footballer capable of playing as a standard striker or deeper in the midfield. At Everton, he will be expected to operate at a traditional number nine which could lead to success from him.
Over the past few years, Rooney hasn’t been able to play in his best role for Manchester United but at Everton, he will be able to do that while also being provided with proper service. But that isn’t all that Rooney brings to Everton.
Rooney will also bring the winning mentality that Everton has been lacking. During his career, Rooney has won the Champion’s League, the World Cup, the Premier League (5x), the Europa League, the FA Cup, the league cup (4x) and has been the top scorer of the Premier League once. That kind of experience is tough to come by on the transfer market and Rooney immediately becomes the most decorated member of the Toffees roster.
Rooney will be able to help Ronald Koeman establish a culture of winning at Everton. This is important because Everton are a young squad that has been mired in mediocrity for the past few years. Adding a consummate winner to the squad will help Koeman set things in motion sooner rather than later.
While this move is good for Everton, it is also good for Rooney. He has been nothing but a professional while he has been pushed to the fringes of Manchester United. He deserves a proper slide into retirement and shouldn’t have been pushed to China or a MLS move (although I’d love to see Rooney banging goals in MLS) and with the move to Everton, he doesn’t have to.
Rooney will move back to his boyhood club, a club that he still loves and have the chance to push them to the next level.
In a release by Everton, Rooney said,
“The first game back will be an emotional day for me and I’m looking forward to it. I’m not just coming back because it’s the team I support, the team I grew up playing for — I’m coming back because I feel the Club can move forward and be successful. I want to be part of it. There will be pressure on me to perform, but I’m ready to go. I believe I can help move this club forward and be more successful on the pitch.”
These aren’t the words of someone who is looking to mail it in and collect a paycheck. These are the words of someone who’s ready to work to improve the team. Rooney will be taking the 10 shirt at Everton, a number that shows that there are expectations for him to perform, expectations that the is prepared for and ready to meet.
This is the road to retirement that Rooney deserved and he now has the means to write a fitting final chapter to his career. Once a Toffee, always a Toffee.
