- Roo Legend: Rooney Retires from England duty!
- Australasia gets represented in the Premier League this year!
- Sanchez in North London, Where Have We Heard That Before?
- Sigurdsson Sale: Swansea could face Ragnarok after losing Thor!
- 2017/18 Premier League Predictions!
- PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!
- Mourinho thrives with a Prag-Matic approach!
- The Loan Ranger: Game of Loans!
- Rome(-lu) Wasn’t Built In A Day, But Hernandez Is Heading Hammers Way!
- Man United, Arsenal, and Huddersfield are all in a dash to splash the cash!
Roo-dison Park: Everton’s new look team for 2017/18!
Everton’s home ground Goodison Park may be known as Roo-dison Park again, as after 13 years away from the blue side of Stanley Park, England captain Wayne Rooney is, like Spider-Man, coming home. The thirty-one-year-old all-time record goal-scorer for Manchester United, having joined the Old Trafford club for £27 million in 2004 from the Toffees, returns (or Roo-turns!) to his boyhood side this summer. Rooney has already announced lifting silverware in a new blue jersey will be the pinnacle of his glittering career, with the Toffees searching for a first trophy since 1995.
Wazman: Homecoming
Rooney has signed a two-year contract with the side who finished seventh in 2016/17 to qualify for the Europa League, the last trophy he lifted with the Red Devils. Rooney arrives home in the same week ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is released, as the Vultures had been out on Wazza’s tenure at Old Trafford all year. A lot of things have changed since Rooney last pulled on the blue shirt, as in 2004, Toby Maguire was Spider-Man, but 13 years later it is Tom Holland swinging into cinemas, with Andrew Garfield donning the role in-between. Like Spider-Man being reunited with Iron-Man, Rooney will get to work with another Dutch enforcer as his mentor, with the England forward experiencing Louis van Gaal for two years at United and now assembling into Ronald Koeman’s side.
Everton land another Koe as they Luk for Rom Replacements!
This window alone, Blues boss Ronald Koeman has spent over £90 million, with the team now packed with ex-Man Utd stars, including Michael Keane, Morgan Schniederlin and now Wayne Rooney. However, most of the money spent by Koeman will be recouped when the United-Everton connection continues, with Romelu Lukaku heading in the opposite direction to Old Trafford for an initial £75 million, with another possible £15 million in add-ons. United will have two Belgium internationals in their squad to have played in both Merseyside blue and Manchester red, with Lukaku potentially teaming up with Marouane Fellaini. That is not to mention to past managerial links with David Moyes. Everton have made six additions so far this summer, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford coming in from Sunderland, defender Michael Keane joining from Burnley (with the Red Devils entitled to a percentage of the fee from that deal from an installed sell-on clause), Dutch midfielder Davy Klaassen leaving Ajax for the blues, Spanish striker Sandro Ramirez departing Malaga for Everton, young forward Henry Onyekuru signing from K.A.S. Eupen, only to join Anderlecht on loan for the new campaign and the marquee man Wayne Rooney.
Rud Awakening for Chelsea as Man Utd continue their Good(ison) Connections!
Twenty-four-year-old Lukaku leaves Everton to link up with the manager who sold him to the Toffees in 2014 for £28 million, as Jose Mourinho beat old club Chelsea to his signature this summer, with a medical taking place for the former West Brom loanee this weekend. Expect to see Lukaku dabbing away with his new training bestie Paul Pogba in 2017/18. However, Antonio Conte’s side have managed to recruit German defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma for an initial £29 million, potentially rising to £33.3 million. Rudiger, also twenty-four, helped Germany lift the 2017 Confederations Cup this time last week and is the second major player to leave Roma for the Premier League this summer, after Liverpool signed Mo Salah for £34 million.
The Klaas of 2017 can now graduate into first team!
Everton now seem to have a squad mixed with leaders (Rooney, Williams, Klaassen) and young talent (Pickford, Keane, Davies). Another positive for the Toffees is that many of the most impressive players who featured for the England Under-20 set-up who lifted the World Cup in South Korea last month with a 1-0 final win over Venezuela, are contracted Everton players. Lookman and Calvert-Lewin played for the England Under-20 team to win the World Cup.
Everton’s New Look(man) Starting XI for 2017/18 Season:
GK: Jordan Pickford
RB: Mason Holgate
CB: Michael Keane
CB: Ashley Williams
LB: Leighton Baines
RWF: Davy Klaassen
CMF: Idrissa Gueye
CMF: Morgan Schneiderlin
LWF: Ademola Lookman
AMF: Wayne Rooney
ST: Sandro Ramirez
Subs Bench: Maarten Stekelenburg, Seamus Coleman, Tom Davies, Gareth Barry, Yannick Bolasie, Kevin Mirallas, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
PHOTO CREDIT: Austin Osuide [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons