Ronald Koeman "really happy" with Wayne Rooney return

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 09 July 2017

Everton manager Ronald Koeman believes that Wayne Rooney still has plenty to offer both on and off the field following his return to the club from Manchester United.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has expressed his delight at completing a deal to bring Wayne Rooney back to the club.

The boyhood Evertonian completed his return to Goodison Park this afternoon, 13 years after leaving the club to join Manchester United.

Rooney won everything there is to win at United and leaves Old Trafford as their leading all-time goalscorer, and Koeman believes that the 31-year-old still has plenty to offer both on and off the field.

"It's all about his fitness and his desire, but he has shown me that ambition that we need. He knows how to win titles, as I said. No-one in the team except Gareth Barry and Davy Klaassen [in the Eredivisie] have won titles. The Under-20s are world champions but not in the Premier League. He is that player. And don't forget the experience he will give to the rest of the team," he told the club's official website.

"Wayne, of course, is still competitive – he will be a competitor always – and he wants to play at the highest level that is possible for him. We have spoken several times about Everton and what we are striving to achieve. That's really interesting for Wayne and a lot of football players and, of course, in the situation of Wayne he was here at the beginning when he was young player for Everton. It's his home and he likes that competition, he likes that pressure. I'm really happy that he finally decided to come back.

"His main quality is his quality on the ball, his experience and what I describe as his winning mentality. Everybody knows he can play out of different positions up front. He's a smart player. He's an experienced football player and that helps everybody.

"We have a lot of young players and sometimes in life you need somebody who you look up to, who you learn from. That was also one of the messages when we spoke about on and off the pitch what his function will be in the team. One of the functions for Wayne is to show the rest of the team why he is - and still is - that player."

Rooney scored 17 goals in 77 appearances for Everton before leaving for Old Trafford in 2004.