Wayne Rooney was the hero for Everton in their 1-0 home win over Stoke City on Saturday.
Pundit Jamie Redknapp has told the Daily Mail that he saw a sparkle in Wayne Rooney’s eye that he hasn’t seen for some time following his goal for Everton against Stoke City.
Everton went into the new Premier League season full of expectation and optimism after a summer of spending, with summer additions Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez all starting against Stoke on the opening day of the season.
However, it was another summer signing who stole the headlines, as Wayne Rooney popped up with what proved to be the winning goal in a 1-0 victory, heading Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s cross past Jack Butland for the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time.
It was a dream return to Goodison Park for Rooney, who re-joined the Toffees from Manchester United back in July, 13 years after leaving his boyhood club in order to make a big-money move to Old Trafford.
Rooney, now 31, hit 253 goals for Manchester United as he became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, but he fell down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho last season, and decided to take the risk and return to Everton.
Rooney won’t simply be winding down his career with his boyhood club, he will be desperate for success at Goodison Park in the hope of becoming the face of Ronald Koeman’s revolution on Merseyside.
Now, pundit Jamie Redknapp has praised Rooney for taking such a decision, as he could have taken huge money in China or the United States, but instead decided that he wanted to have another crack with Everton.
Redknapp, speaking to the Daily Mail, also claimed that he noticed a sparkle in Rooney’s eye during his second Everton debut that has been missing for too long, showing burst on the pitch and excitement in his face that only returning to Goodison Park could bring for the England ace.
Pundit Jamie Redknapp
“I played in Wayne Rooney’s Everton debut — a 2-2 draw against Tottenham — and remember glancing across at the 16-year-old in the tunnel after the game,” said Redknapp. “His face was filled with excitement — he had a sparkle in his eye. For the first time in a long time, I saw that same sparkle when Rooney was speaking on Saturday after his match-winning heroics.”
“That desire to burst into the box and head the winner for Everton was like watching Rooney as a young boy. I got a bit of stick for putting Rooney in my 10 to watch this season but his is one of the most interesting moves of the summer. It would have been so easy for him to cash in and go to America or China. Instead, he put himself under huge pressure by returning to his boyhood club. I’m excited to see how it all unfolds,” he added.
What did you think of Rooney’s display against Stoke?
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