Rooney vows to reclaim his England shirt
WAYNE ROONEY is ready to prove Gareth Southgate wrong by scoring the goals for Everton that will secure his return to the England squad.
Everton officially unveiled Rooney at Goodison Park yesterday and Ronald Koeman immediately made it clear he will give the 31-year-old a platform to recapture his best form by playing England’s record goalscorer as a striker.
Rooney has not played for his country since collecting his 119th cap against Scotland last November, but he has no axe to grind with Southgate over that absence as he bluntly admitted his form for Manchester United last season was not good enough.
His return to Everton, though, has lit a fire. His immediate priority is winning a place in Koeman’s team and repaying the manager for this opportunity, but his long-term goal is to win a place in Southgate’s 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia next year.
‘As you well know, I love playing for England,’ said Rooney. ‘Gareth had to make a decision — as Jose (Mourinho) did — but I spoke to him. I wasn’t playing the football that I like and I don’t think you should play for your country if you are not playing for your club. That’s my opinion.
‘So I understood his decision fully. He told me that, if I get back playing every week, then the door is still open to get back into the squad. It would be great if I could do that. If I do well here, I’m sure he will have a decision to make.’
Rooney took a significant pay cut to return to Everton, turning down more lucrative advances from China and the United States. He would have retired from England had he moved to the Far East, but he feels he still has much to offer in the Premier League.
‘I want to play for England,’ said Rooney. ‘If I’d gone to China — which was an option — then I would’ve called it a day myself. It’s the time difference, the difference in the standard of the league… it just wouldn’t have been right for me to try and carry on playing for England if I had gone there.’
It is expected Rooney will get his first minutes back in a Blues shirt in Tanzania on Thursday. He trained with his new teammates at Finch Farm for the first time yesterday and is ready to silence the critics who believe his game-changing influence has disappeared.
‘I always play like I have a point to prove,’ said Rooney. ‘I’m not coming back to a retirement home. I know I am at my best when I am playing games. I spoke to Jose and I firmly believe this is the right place to do it.’
Rooney returned to his boyhood club — the place where he started what remains a stellar career — yesterday dressed in Everton blue. Dark blue suit, darker blue tie. It must be said, he looked immediately at home.
Say or think what you like about Rooney, but he has always retained an air of the pure, unaltered competitor at heart. Many of the things that motivated him when he left Merseyside for United in 2004 motivate him now.
Asked which Premier League fixture he is most anticipating, he said without pause: ‘The Liverpool game. That was one of my biggest regrets when I left Everton — not scoring in the derby. I came on in my first one (a 0-0 draw in December 2002) and I hit the crossbar. To score against Liverpool for Everton? That would be great.’
Swansea, meanwhile, have told Everton they want upwards of £45m for playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Everton hope to do a deal somewhere near the £35m mark, but sources at the Welsh club have since indicated that they will not sell for less than £45m. Ideally, that figure would be edged up towards £50m by various playing-related add-ons.