Phil Jagielka: Wayne Rooney would love to return to Everton

Rooney and Phil Jagielka

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney craves a return to former club Everton - even if it is unlikely to happen, according to Toffees defender Phil Jagielka.

The 29-year-old left Everton in 2004 to join Manchester United in a £27m deal, winning the Premier League five times and League Cup twice and the Champions League.

However, Phil Jagielka admits the chances of Manchester United allowing Rooney to leave Old Trafford are slim, as noted by Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph.

 ‘He would come back but he wouldn’t want to come back at the end when he wasn’t the player he was. He wouldn’t want to come back for the sake of it. He would want to come back and make a difference,’ Jagielka said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

‘He wouldn’t just come back just for the sake of running around and doing nothing. Wayne has high standards. He would want to come back to break records, score the most goals for Everton – that’s the type of person he is.

‘But he’s got a big future, especially doing so well for Manchester United at the moment, and I can’t see them letting him go anytime soon.’

United travel to Everton on Sunday, a year on from a 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park that preceded David Moyes’s dismissal as manager. Liverpool’s hopes of a top-four finish are fading fast, with Manchester City seven points above them in the standings, albeit having played a game more.