Wayne Rooney believes Derby County had “no choice” but to trade Morgan Whittaker and is thrilled to have him in his arsenal now that he is in charge of Plymouth.
Whittaker was sold by the Rams to Swansea in 2021 after 25 league appearances, and he signed a four-and-a-half year contract with the Welsh club. Rooney was in charge of Derby at the time, having taken over the winger who made his breakthrough under Phillip Cocu.
However, Whittaker departed Swansea to join Plymouth on a permanent basis last year after excelling during a loan spell that yielded nine goals in 25 league outings. Argyle reportedly paid £1 million to sign him from Swansea following their promotion from League One, and he has since become one of the club’s prize assets.
When asked if he was aware of Whittaker’s talent at Pride Park during his appearance on TalkSport Drive yesterday, Rooney stated the situation was effectively out of his hands. Although Rooney claims Whittaker was sold during administration, this was not the case.
He said, “I sold him! No, Morgan is a terrific guy. Derby was in administration, so we had no choice but to sell him, and he moved to Swansea. I told Morgan at the time that he’s great on the ball and scored some wonderful goals.
“The next phase is improving his whole game. This season, we’ve really worked on it, and he’s been amazing. He’s such an essential player for us because of his work ethic, his willingness to return and aid the club, and the quality he offers with his match-winner.
“The reason I leave him on the pitch every game is because he has moments, like you saw on Saturday, when he wins us the game in the 97th minute. We’re happy to have him since he demonstrated a genuine desire to continue with the football club.
