Everton director of football Marcel Brands has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will likely be exiting Goodison Park in order to sign for MLS franchise DC United this summer.
Rooney, 32, only returned to Everton last summer, but has largely failed to convince fans that he is worth keeping around with a very disappointing run of form in the second half of the campaign.
It has been widely reported that the former England and Manchester United attacker will be heading to the USA this summer, and while Brands admits that that he won’t stand in the way of the senior player leaving, he will seek talks with him in the near future.
“There is a possibility he will be leaving. He is talking with DC and we will now talk with him,” said Brands, as quoted by the Mirror in their live transfer blog on Monday [02:16pm].
“If this is a move he wants to make, then there is only one thing I can say, I hope he will return when he is finished because he is a legend at the club.”
OPINION
Rooney has had a tough second spell at Everton. He hit the ground running in the Premier League by scoring against Stoke and Manchester City last August, and despite a purple patch in December, he has failed to prove that he is worth his big wage. Rooney scored 11 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions for the Blues this season and only managed to create three assists. For someone of his experience and role in the squad, those numbers should really be higher. Rooney is now playing in an age where he is not suited to the game anymore. You have to be quick and clinical in the Premier League, especially for a team with the ambitions of Everton – and unfortunately, Rooney no longer has those. He should flourish in the States though. DC United are weirdly a team that has been without a star signing for the vast majority of their past. Rooney is already an icon with Everton and Man United, he can become one in Washington DC too.