The England superstar left the Merseyside club to join Manchester United as an eighteen-year-old for a fee of around £25.6m.

But the Toffees skipper thinks the Red Devils ace would relish a return to Goodison Park - because he still loves the club.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Jagielka said: "He would come back but he wouldn't want to come back at the end when he wasn't the player he was.

TRUE BLUE: Wayne Rooney would return to Everton, Phil Jagielka reckons [GETTY]

"He wouldn't want to come back for the sake of it. He would want to come back and make a difference.

"He wouldn't just come back just for the sake of running around and doing nothing. Wayne has high standards.

"He would want to come back to break records, score the most goals for Everton - that's the type of person he is.

"But he's got a big future, especially doing so well for Manchester United at the moment, and I can't see them letting him go anytime soon."

He added: “I speak to him all the time and he’s always keen to know how we have got on, he’s still a big Evertonian.“Obviously he’s got an affiliation with Manchester United, he’s been there a long time, he’s the captain now, but he still loves this club."