Wayne Rooney once lied to Everton fans and they never truly forgave him for it.
As the most exciting English talent in a generation the then teenager infamously proclaimed that he was “once a blue, always a blue.” Two years later he was a blue no more, joining Manchester United for a record £27 million transfer fee.
For many years afterwards his Goodison Park homecomings weren’t so pleasant, primarily because of his broken promise that he would be there forever. Everton fans are used to their club selling their best players to bigger and better teams, but Rooney vowed to be different. Ultimately, he wasn’t.
The ill-feeling has faded of late, though. Rooney is no longer public enemy number one on both the red and blue sides of Merseyside. That is most likely down to his diminishing powers as a player, with the striker losing his first team place for both club and country this season. No matter how strong your emotion, human instinct makes it difficult to kick someone when they’re down.
Rooney won’t make another Goodison Park return on Sunday, missing out on United’s game against Everton through suspension. Of course, it’s debatable whether he would have started anyway, with the striker having to make do with a place on the bench in recent weeks. But while Rooney won’t be back on Merseyside this weekend perhaps he should consider a more permanent return to his roots.
The frosty feeling between Everton and Rooney has thawed to such an extent it has been raised that he could one day make a return to the club where it all started for him. No longer indispensable at Manchester United, he could soon be moved on by Jose Mourinho and Goodison Park has been mooted as a potential destination.
It’s a suggestion Everton manager Ronald Koeman did very little to quell when it was put to him a few weeks ago. The Dutchman actually fanned the flames of speculation.
“First of all, you speak about the captain of the national team and if he is on the bench then of course the media will ask how and why is it possible?” he said. “I am not at United, I don’t see sessions and every game. He is still not finished. I don’t know how his situation is, but if Rooney is ever an option for Everton, I would be very pleased.”
So just how feasible would a move for Rooney be for the Toffees? Financially, they would have to dig deep to lure Rooney back to Goodison Park. If United do decide to transfer list the striker there will be competition for his signature from MLS and the Chinese Super League, both of whom boast substantial riches, as well as the prospect of a completely new challenge. Rooney would have to be made the highest paid player in Everton history.
From the player’s perceptive, a Merseyside return would certainly have its advantages. Rooney has recently shown a certain sentimentally about his time at Everton, clearly still holding the club dearly. It is, after all, where he started out. He still visits Liverpool regularly to see family. Both city and club mean a lot to him, even after all this time.
He featured in a charity match at Goodison Park last year when he was asked, not for the final time, whether he would be open to making an Everton return. He fumbled his response indicating, again not for the first time, that something might be in the suggestion. Rooney even chose Everton as the opposition for his own testimonial this summer. Indeed, the hurt that his big money move to Old Trafford caused seems to have healed, to a certain extent.
And so, if he has the chance to return to the Toffees, he should. Too many legends—Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to name two recent examples—have sought a new challenge at the wrong stage of their careers. Rooney would be tested by returning to Everton, but he would find a club willing to embrace him again for what he is. That is something he could use.
Some Everton fans might feel somewhat patronised should Rooney make a romantic return to Goodison Park. The striker decided he was too good for the Toffees earlier in his career, at a time when he needed nurtured, but now needs indulged as he enters the twilight of his career. Would that really be an appealing prospect?
Nonetheless, there would something rather refreshing about a player of Rooney’s stature opting for a trip of sentimentality over an ego trip. He doesn’t need the money, after all. He might not have kept the promise he made all those years ago, but he might one day be a blue again.
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