Rooney can lead Everton to new level, says Koeman

Everton manager, Ronald Koeman, says their new signing, Wayne Rooney, has made huge impact on the squad, and believes the England captain’s experience can lead his side to new heights.

Rooney, who is the record scorer for the national team, returned to his first club after 13 years with Manchester United and was Koeman’s sixth signing in the current transfer window.

“He has a lot of experience,” Koeman said in the club’s website.

“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.”

The Merseyside club have been one of the most active Premier League clubs in the transfer window, with their major signings including Rooney, Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Davy Klaassen, Henry Onyekuru, Sandro Ramirez and Cuco Martina.

With the hope to sustain a challenge in both the Premier League and Europe during the upcoming season, Koeman believes that they have added plenty of quality to the squad.

“I’m really happy with how the new players have settled in,” he said, adding that they had great future at Everton and provided the quality we needed to improve.