Wayne Rooney claims he is still of Premier League quality

Former England star Wayne Rooney claimed that his class still matches the requirements of the Premier League. He believes that his skills are still good enough to compete in the League as a footballer.

The former England international recently joined Derby County from MLS team DC United. His 18-month contract at Pride Park will officially begin in January 2020.

The 34-year-old has been appointed as a player-coach with the Rams. Last Saturday, Rooney was in the stands watching his latest employer lose 0-1 to Millwall at home. The footballer admitted his intentions to move into management someday.

Rooney still has an ambition of playing in the Premier League. He spent 13 years at Manchester United after starting his career in Everton. However, his second spell with Everton in 2017 lasted less than one year.

Recently England's all-time leading goal scorer spoke to the press. He said, "I still felt I could do it when I was at Everton, but other people made their decisions on that. Now my ambition is to get Derby back in the Premier League and hopefully play my part there for them. Ryan Giggs was able to play into his late thirties in the Premier League and Gareth Barry says he wants to do it at 40. It's important to understand football. It is not all about running around, it is about using your head to play the game. Sometimes that gets lost because you don't score as many goals or whatever. Given the right team around me, then I could still play in the Premier League."

Rooney is the second-highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. He has 208 goals to his name in the top-division, which is behind that of Alan Shearer's tally of 260 goals. The former England captain is about to join Derby at a time when the club is positioned 16th in the second-tier League. Nevertheless, Rooney believes he can help the club qualify for the top division.

Rooney has also expressed his interest in joining the group of young English managers after his playing days are over, instead of working in punditry. Rooney's former England international colleagues such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker have recently landed managerial jobs at the club level.

John Terry, on the other hand, is a part of the coaching staff at Aston Villa. Only time will tell if Rooney will take upon full-time managerial responsibilities in the top division. Before that, he will have to gain experience with Derby County.