Done Deal: Rooney To Make Everton Return

Wayne Rooney was pictured attending and later leaving Everton’s training ground on Saturday as he edged towards a potential Goodison Park return.

The striker who once celebrated by unveiling a shirt reading ‘Once a Blue, always a Blue’ appears close to rejoining his boyhood club from Manchester United, 13 years after he initially left Merseyside.

Sky Sports News HQ’s cameras captured Rooney driving into the Toffees’ Finch Farm training base on Saturday afternoon, and he was seen signing autographs for young fans outside before he left.

Talks regarding a return for the 31-year-old forward have gathered pace in recent days while United have closed on their own move for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, even if it was initially thought the two deals were not related.

On Saturday United announced they had agreed terms with Everton on the transfer of Lukaku, which is understood to be worth £75 million (Dh355m), and the Belgian is expected to link up with his new club in America for their pre-season tour.

That transatlantic journey, made on Sunday, is unlikely to include United’s all-time record scorer among its passengers as Rooney readies himself to head back to the club where he first came to prominence as a 16-year-old.

Everton fans only got to witness two years of Rooney in a blue shirt before he departed in 2004 to join United for a fee that rose to £27m.