Wayne Rooney ‘Tempted’ To Return To Everton Despite Rejecting An Interview
- Wayne Rooney ‘Tempted’ by Everton return despite Off-Field Issues.
Wayne Rooney has admitted he will “always be tempted” to return to Everton despite rejecting a chance to interview for the manager’s job last year.
Rooney has enjoyed a promising start to his managerial career having impressed at Derby in the Championship and having recently revived DC United’s fortunes in MLS.
But the former Blues forward turned down an opportunity to speak to the Goodison Park hierarchy in January 2022 when Rafa Benítez left the club.
Rooney though, has insisted he would consider a homecoming despite calling the club “broken” in an interview published on Wednesday.
“You’re always tempted,” he told the Athletic. “It’s a club I love and want to do well. You look at it, you think of it… ‘is it the right timing to do that? What’s the impact if you go in and don’t have the impact you feel you can?’
“But on the flipside, what’s the impact if you go in and really develop the club?
“I felt it wasn’t the right time over the last year or two. But if anything like that comes up in future, what I’ve built at Derby (where he almost kept the club up despite a 21-point deduction) and DC United is all a development to help me make that decision easier.
“It’s a club that has clearly been broken over the last few years and they don’t seem to have got it right off the pitch, which is having an impact on the pitch.
“The players have to do better — they’ve got some really good players and they’re underachieving through the quality of the squad. They got a bit of luck to get through the last two years and still be in the Premier League.
“Sean Dyche has done a good job. Hopefully he can steady the team and club. The stadium is coming and there needs to be some change to try and get that club back to where we all know it can be.”
Dyche managed to keep Everton in the Premier League on the final day of the season last time out and will start pre-season this weekend against Wigan.
