5 players who have returned to their former clubs this summer

Over the course of the last few decades, we have seen the concept of loyalty in football diminish rapidly. While many claim it is a result of the growing commercialisation of the game, it can also be attributed to players seeking greener pastures to help their development as footballers.

Often transfers can make or break a player’s reputation amongst their fans as they can go from being demi-gods to ridiculed personalities in a matter of hours. However, there are a few footballers, who have the opportunity to return to their respective footballing homes, sometimes against their wishes and it definitely makes for a story to be recalled over and over again.

In this segment, we take a look at 5 players who have rejoined their former clubs in the ongoing transfer window.

---

#5 Jose Baxter

Often, young footballers are presented with a tough decision pretty early in their professional careers. They could stay at a particular club in a bid to get their deserved chance or move away from the club they learned the tricks of the trade in and that can be a life changing moment in their careers.

However, former Everton attacking midfielder Jose Baxter was very clear about what he believed was right for his career and in a bid to achieve his true potential, he decided to forego the opportunity to extend his contract with the Toffees at the end of the 2011-12 in a bid to find more game time. However, life seems to have taken a full circle for the 24-year-old as he is set to rejoin Everton for the upcoming season after going through a personal turmoil of sorts.

After leaving Everton, the Bootle born youngster spent a solitary season with Oldham Athletic before moving to Sheffield Wednesday at the start of the 2013-14 season. It was going well for the player as he racked up 21 goals in 96 appearances during his first two seasons at the Hillsborough Stadium before things began to go awry. He was suspended for usage of ecstasy and has since spent time on the sidelines as he was punished with a year-long ban by the FA for failing a second drug test in August 2016.

While there were rumours that he was set to join Sunday League club Bushell Athletic, he was handed, what is believed to be the final lifeline to resurrect his flailing career by Everton who have signed him on a 12-month contract.

For a player who was believed to be better than Wayne Rooney at 16 by the hierarchy at Goodison Park, Baxter knows he cannot afford to mess up the chance presented to him and will be keen to impress if and when he is afforded an opportunity.

#4 Ever Banega

Banega returned to Sevilla after a subdued spell at Inter Milan

Ever Banega is one of those footballers whose value to a side is often realised when the midfielder is not on the pitch. The intelligent and versatile Argentine is one of the most underrated footballers in the world at the moment. He possesses the ability to dictate the tempo of a game, can prove to be deadly with his creativity while also ensuring that he does his fair share of dirty work in the middle of the park.

Banega first arrived at the European shores when Valencia signed up the then 20-year-old from Boca Juniors owing to his impressive performances for the Argentine club and he immediately made an impact as he became a regular in the side. However, regular injuries meant that Banega spent more time on the treatment table that on the pitch and he soon became one of the names that truly failed to live up to their potential, even moving back to Argentina in January 2014 in a bid to regain his lost status.

While the move did afford him the requisite game time, what followed next truly helped him regain his credentials as a player to reckon with. He joined Sevilla at the beginning of the 2014-15 season and thereafter became a regular in the side, helping the club win back to back Europa League titles.

When Sevilla decided to let him leave on a free transfer for Inter Milan at the beginning of the last season, many were shocked. How could they let go of a player who had been so critical to their success leave? Turns out Banega’s love affair with Sevilla is set to continue for some more time as the Argentine has rejoined Sevilla after spending just 12 months in Italy. Sevilla fans will be hoping the 29-year-old continues to play a critical role in their endeavours to become a top three side in the upcoming season.

#3 Jermaine Defoe

Can Defoe continue with his goal scoring prowess at his former club Bournemouth?

If there was an English footballer who seems to be ageing fine like a wine, it has to be Jermaine Defoe. Despite being 34 years of age, the striker does not seem to be losing his touch in front of the goal and has even earned himself a recall to the English national team.

The former Sunderland striker began his professional career with West Ham before making a name for himself at Tottenham Hotspur. However, what is often forgotten is that Defoe actually spent a solitary season on loan at the then second division side Bournemouth in what proved to be his break out year.

The then 18-year old played 31 times for the Cherries, scoring 19 times in the process. He scored in 10 consecutive games for the club and it was a season that made the hierarchy at West Ham United take notice of his talent and rest, as they say, is history. Defoe would go on to etch himself permanently in the memoirs of the League with his goal scoring abilities.

In an illustrious career that has seen him become one of the most feared players in the game season after season, Defoe has scored 269 times in 649 career appearances and while that itself guarantees him the status of a legend, Defoe is not ready to hang up his boots yet.

The striker rejoined the Cherries in July for a free transfer and if there is one thing he guarantees as a Bournemouth player, it's goals. The 34-year-old could prove to be the perfect addition to Eddie Howe’s squad as they look to improve on their 9th place finish of last season.

#2 Gerard Deulofeu

Barcelona's former golden boy returns to the Camp Nou in a bid to impress

For a player as young as just 23 years of age, Gerard Deulofeu has definitely experienced the ups and downs that are often associated with the game of football. The winger started his career at the Camp Nou after having risen through the ranks at the club. He was one of those youngsters who were expected to take the game by storm. He scored goals for fun and was a player who tormented the opposition with his movement, vision and ability to split the best of defences in the youth leagues.

However, it would be fair to say that the player failed to truly cement his spot at Barcelona as he was first sent on a loan to Everton and subsequently Sevilla, where he impressed in bits and parts. He eventually joined the Toffees on a permanent deal at the beginning of the 2015 season in a bid to establish himself but the move did not yield the expected results yet again.

He was shipped to AC Milan on a season long loan in January 2017 and it was a move that might have proved to be the turning point in his career. During his time at the San Siro, the 23-year-old was a player to be feared. He created goal scoring opportunities at a good frequency (he averaged a goal scoring opportunity every 34 minutes) and also managed to find the back of the net on four occasions.

The player is now back on the books of his childhood club Barcelona as the Catalan giants decided to activate his buy-back clause and the Spaniard might finally get his chance to prove to the world why he belongs amongst the big boys.

While being only 23 years of age, his performances in the recent years have taken a bit of sheen away from his persona and the winger knows it better than anyone else that he needs to grab his opportunities with both his hands or become another prodigy who failed to fulfil his potential.

#1 Wayne Rooney

Rooney could prove to be a valuable asset to Ronald Koeman's side

Not very long ago, Wayne Rooney was an untouchable figure at the Old Trafford. He had been a critical figure under the regime of Sir Alex Ferguson, scoring a bagful of goals every season and even managed to hold the club to a ransom when he wanted better terms on his contract. He was virtually untouchable at the club until Louis Van Gaal was appointed as the manager of the club.

It was the Dutch manager who presented the clubs’ fans with a team without Wazza and began to play him in numerous positions to bring out the best in him while many believed that Rooney was past his prime. It was the appointment of Jose Mourinho that truly proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Englishman’s career at Old Trafford. The player spent a lot of time on the bench in the last season and it was becoming evident that his future lied elsewhere.

Cut to the present and Wayne Rooney has already rejoined his boyhood club Everton on a free transfer - despite having two years left on his contract at Manchester United - on a two-year contract. The boy who lit up the Premier League with his electric performances as a teenager before moving on to the greener pastures now has to prove his mettle yet again at a club where he learnt the tricks of the trade.

At 31 years of age, Rooney is not all that old for a footballer and his goal scoring instincts are largely intact and these traits would benefit Everton immensely. Add to that the experience he brings to Ronald Koeman’s side and Rooney could prove extremely critical to Everton’s fortunes during his time at Goodison Park. We just hope that the England captain can put the troubles of the last few seasons behind him and regain the spark that made him a feared name throughout the globe.