Koeman: Rooney is still one of the best players around

Joe Williams

Everton boss Ronald Koeman thinks former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is “one of the best players” around still at the age of 31.

The England international completed a move to Goodison Park on a free transfer this summer with Romelu Lukaku heading to Old Trafford for a reported fee of £75million.

Rooney heads back to the Toffees 13 years after he left to United and his manager has been impressed with him in training and his start to pre-season.

“He has a lot of experience,” Koeman said. “He is an important player on the pitch but also important for his team-mates 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.”

On his overall summer business, he added: “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.”