Everton’s plight in sharp focus as Wayne Rooney reveals he turned them down

Originally posted on Caught Offside | By Jason Pettigrove | Last updated 1/28/22

With a few days left of the January transfer window, Everton don’t appear fussed about player comings and goings.

That’s because Farhad Moshiri and his board are concentrating on bringing in a replacement for the recently-sacked Rafael Benitez.

The Spaniard departed and it became clear that the Toffees didn’t even have a contingency plan in place, indicating just what disarray the club are in at present.

Whomever comes in to replace Benitez won’t have any time to make new signings which could prove problematic, but that’s the situation for anyone that wishes to be considered, so take it or leave it.

The three candidates left to be given second interviews over the weekend are Vitor Pereira, Duncan Ferguson and Frank Lampard.

It was perhaps quite surprising not to see Wayne Rooney on the list, however, according to Sky Sports, he was approached by his boyhood club but turned them down.

Though he does have a job to do at Derby County as they look to save themselves from going out of business, the pull of that particular job must’ve been immense.

That Rooney chose to turn his back on Everton says much about the present state the club find themselves in.

The three remaining candidates will understand that they have no time to waste in the role and will have to hit the ground running and get results immediately.

With Ferguson have already taken charge of the squad and worked with them since Benitez left, hiring the Scot would appear to be a sensible option, though there are plus points to the other candidates too.

This article first appeared on Caught Offside and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: