Roo would be welcomed as a toffee re-born
DESPITE Jose Mourinho stating Wayne Rooney will NOT be leaving Old Trafford, Everton’s Phil Jagielka admits he’d be happy to see him return to Goodison.
Manager Ronald Koeman has registered his interest in the Manchester United skipper and his England team-mate sees no barriers to a return to his boyhood club should a deal ever be brokered.
Rooney, who has lost his status as a guaranteed starter under Mourinho, recently said that Everton are the only other Premier League club he’d play for.
Koeman acknowledged: “If there’s a possibility that Rooney is an option, I’m very pleased.”
And club captain Jagielka believes that any animosity towards Rooney that existed when he left for Old Trafford has been forgotten.
“He’s an Evertonian and I’m sure the fans would take to him,” he says.
“He’s rebuilt the bridges he potentially burnt when he was a young lad.
“But Wayne has a long contract at United and he’s still their captain. Just because he’s not playing at the moment doesn’t mean he’s not a massive part of their team.
“He’s still a fantastic player, even if people are quick to jump on his back.
“Maybe a fresh start would help him or maybe he’s a game away from being a hero again.
“A lot of people would have gone missing a long time ago. He’s had all sorts to deal with through his career and normally he’s come out on top.
“He’s had a lot of football and maybe this break when he’s not playing as much will give him a breather and he’ll come out all guns blazing.
“He is the country’s leading scorer, hopefully he will also get the most caps. He’s someone we should be idolising.
“Unfortunately, with football, we have massive highs and ridiculous lows. We all play in a unique environment in the Premier League.”
In one of the most-competitive title races ever, Jagielka hopes that Everton can sneak in under the radar.
“There’s going to be an opportunity the way the Premier League has been going,” he says.
“It’s no longer a fourhorse race for the top-four places. It’s eight, nine teams.”
As part of the club’s annual Poppy Appeal, Jagielka has met local veterans through the club’s Knowsley Veterans’ Hub programme, which he launched in February.
Among them was Dave Curtis, who was in the Queens’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment and lin 2009 lost his friend in Afghanistan after a suicide bomber drove into their vehicle. Dave has suffered PTSD.
Says Jagileka: “We are idolised for playing a sport when what these guys have done is way beyond football.”