Koeman: Rooney an important player on the pitch

Once it was clear how highly Ronald Koeman regarded Wayne Rooney, it was almost inevitable that Everton would find a way to get a deal done and bring the veteran back to the club.

Speaking to the Everton website, here’s what Koeman had to say about Rooney yesterday.

“He has a lot of experience. He is an important player on the pitch but also important for his teammates and certainly the young players to show them what you need to do to reach that high standard of football.

“That means he needs to be a leader off the pitch and if I see how he’s working and what he’s doing with all the players it’s really what we want. Every day in training so far and in the friendlies, you see why he’s one of the best in his position and one of the best players.”

Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images

The manager was also happy to see his new recruits embedding themselves into the team over the last couple of weeks -

“I’m really happy with how the new players have settled in. We have a really good team. It’s easy to come to Everton Football Club for the new players. The rest of the squad are open people and the new players feel at home when they move here.

“They have great futures at Everton and provide the quality we need to improve.”