Ronald Koeman Backs Wayne Rooney for England Once Again

Ronald Koeman has given his backing to Wayne Rooney to make a return to the international side, after recently losing his place in the England national team.

Since the appointment of manager Gareth Southgate as the replacement for Sam Allardyce on a permanent basis, Rooney has been sidelined. However, it has largely to do with his lack of regular first-team football with Manchester United, while he also do not score too many goals at the Red Devils last season. Manager Jose Mourinho preferred using Rooney in the midfield, but it is widely expected that he will make the switch back to the striker’s position at Everton.

Rooney joined the Merseyside outfit as part of the deal that took Romelu Lukaku to Old Trafford. The England international joined a free transfer to his former club and he is expected to be the face of the team going forward. Manager Ronald Koeman has expressed his happiness at being able to possess a player like Rooney in the first team. Still only 31 years old, Rooney has the ability to make a difference for several years to come. Rooney’s first major task will be to help Everton progressing to the latter stages of the Europa league, as they take on Ruzomberok in the qualifying rounds.

“First of all, if you play really good football and produce great performances for your club it is possible that he will come back to the national team. But it always starts with the club, his performances for the club and then it’s reasonable that he will go back to the national team,” said Koeman. “The great thing for Rooney is that he will probably be playing more regular football, so it’s as simple as that,” said Southgate when enquired about the possibility of recalling Rooney to the national team.