Everton has signed multiple players this season including Wayne Rooney. (Source: Reuters)
Former Everton captain Phil Neville said that the Toffees has done the best business this summers and could ‘do a Tottenham’ this season . He feels that the return of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United along with other players has softened the blow of Romelu Lukaku leaving the team.
Other than Rooney, manager Ronald Koeman brought in goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, midfielder Davy Klaassen and defenders Michael Keane and Cuco Martina. Neville said, “If the window closed today, Everton have done the best business. Everton have to look at Tottenham,” he added.
Explaining how Everton is capable of doing a Tottenham, Neville said, “Four or five years ago, Tottenham and Everton were on similar levels, Tottenham kicked on and Everton didn’t but now I think they are well capable of doing a Tottenham – producing a young team with a brilliant manager in Ronald Koeman.
“Everton have bought quality and what is more exciting is the young players breaking through – couple that with Wayne Rooney and it should be good. Everton could be one of the teams to watch this year. They have been very proactive, they have not waited for Lukaku to leave, they have said ‘let’s get our players in first and take some of the pressure off’,” he said.
Recalling his days with the Toffees club, he added, “I remember when I was at Everton with David Moyes. We sold Joleon Lescott one summer and Mikel Arteta towards the end [of the transfer window] – when you sell those players it puts added pressure on and fans get a little angry.
“They have actually signed four or five players, the fans are happy, it softens the blow of Lukaku leaving with knowing full well there are one or two more to come. I think the signing of Rooney gels it all together for Everton. There is no way Wayne Rooney would go back to Everton if he didn’t think they were going to win things, that is for sure.”
