Outspoken pundit Stan Collymore has stated that Everton don’t need to bring Wayne Rooney back to the club and that he could in fact cause problems to manager Ronald Koeman.
The BBC have reported that the 31-year-old is closing in on a return to Goodison Park on a free transfer and that it is not connected to the deal which will see Romelu Lukaku move in the opposite direction.
The Englishman is one of the biggest names in world football given his scoring record at both club and country level, but last season was a bleak one for the forward as he was dropped from both sides.
He will now be looking for an opportunity to restart his career, but Collymore believes that Everton aren’t the club that should be giving him one and that if he is not playing in the team then Koeman will start facing questions.
“We must not forget Rooney’s move in all of this, either, and I’ve no doubts that, while he will be sad to leave United, he will be delighted to be going home to Merseyside,” wrote Collymore in his column for the Mirror.
“But do Everton really need the former England captain? I don’t think they do.
“Not on the field, anyway, although his signing will be as much to foster a winning mentality as anything else.
“It’s going to be interesting because he’s not the most vocal captain – he prefers to lead by example.
“You wonder how often he is going to play after only a bit-part role for United last season.
“And if he isn’t playing very often come January, then Ronald Koeman will suddenly start facing questions and that can be wearing for a manager.
“Maybe Koeman is OK with that because he knows Rooney will give Everton a bigger profile abroad and let players who are potential targets know that the poster boy of English football for the past decade is now in the Goodison dressing room.”
Croxteth-born Rooney broke through the Everton youth ranks after making his senior debut for the club in 2002 at the age of 16.
He scored 15 goals in 71 appearances in total for the Toffees before completing a mega £25.6million to Manchester United in the summer of 2004 and he has since become the Red Devils’ record scorer with 253 strikes in 559 appearances.
The experienced forward has also helped Manchester United to five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, a Champions League and Europa League medal and if anything he will certainly add a lot of experience on his return to Everton.