On Monday July 10th 2017, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney completed his transfer and return to his boyhood club Everton for an undisclosed fee.
Rooney is now the Toffees 6th summer signing to date following on from the arrival of Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez and Henry Onyekuru. They have also agreed a fee to sign Cuco Martina from Southampton.
Over £100 million will have been spent by the club to date this summer. This has been made possible with the sale of star striker Romelu Lukaku to Manchester united in a deal that could cost the Red Devils up to £90 million.
Not a bad summer’s business so far for manager Ronald Koeman.
What does this say about Everton’s intent next season?
It shows that Everton now mean business under new co-owner and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. And they needed to show this.
Last season they finished the league in a disappointing 7th position, a whopping 32 points behind champions Chelsea. The Toffees were in serious danger of getting left behind by the 6 teams ahead of them, as they had a squad that lacked strength in depth by comparison.
In recruiting six new players (soon to be seven) and losing one for nearly the same price, they have addressed this issue in emphatic fashion.
Yet history is not kind to Everton in terms of records. They have not won a major trophy since the 1995 FA Cup - 22 years ago.
For a sleeping giant, this is simply too long ago. But things are really looking up at the moment.
The Rooney signing could prove to be a masterstroke
Many people balk at the idea of Everton being interested in Wayne Rooney, a massive earner that has shown to be on the wane in terms of his contribution in recent seasons.
Yet Rooney has taken a substantial pay cut to move home, so in this regard Everton have picked up a potential bargain. The superstar still has undoubted quality and his vast experience can only benefit Everton’s other new recruits.
And at 31, he still has perhaps 3 years of football left in him at the highest level.
Everton have invested cleverly in England’s future
The club spent a whopping £30 million on goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from relegated Sunderland.
The young keeper was the silver lining in a miserable season for the Black Cats with an array of impressive performances. At only 23 years of age, he has a long club and England international career ahead of him.
Ex-Manchester United central defender Michael Keane brought composure and organisation to Burnley that helped them stay safe from relegation this season.
At 24, he too has an exciting future; himself and Pickford can form the backbone to Everton and England for the next decade.
Koeman has the ambition and record Everton need
Ronald Koeman is used to winning things.
He was a very successful player; and since becoming a manager he’s won 8 trophies to date, with 4 of them coming as manager of Dutch giants Ajax.
Realistically he’ll aim for a trophy next season in the form of either the FA Cup or the League Cup. Everton will also make a big push towards a top 4 finish too, although the other 6 teams ahead of them still have a large cheque book to use this summer.
Yet the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool are Everton’s closest rivals in the league, and neither has made any major signings of note yet. In that regard, Everton have stolen a march and set down a significant marker of intent.
The best business any Premier League side has done this summer
We will see how Everton’s prospects look for the coming Premier League season when the transfer window eventually closes, but right now you have to say they’ve done by far the best business of any club.
If they finish the season without a trophy or a top 4 finish, expect Ronald Koeman to be in the firing line.
Nonetheless, it’s an exciting time to be from the blue half of Merseyside right now. Let’s see what happens.
Written by Nicholas Behan
Follow Nicholas on Twitter @NicholasBehan
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