Wayne Rooney says Derby County had “no option” but to sell Morgan Whittaker and is delighted to have him in his armoury now he is in charge at Plymouth.
Whittaker was sold by the Rams to Swansea in 2021 after making 25 league appearances and signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Welsh side. Rooney was in charge of Derby at the time having inherited the winger who made the breakthrough under Phillip Cocu.
But Whittaker left Swansea to join Plymouth on a permanent deal last year after impressing during a loan spell which yielded nine goals in 25 league games. Argyle reportedly paid £1m to sign him from Swansea after their promotion from League One and he has gone on to become one of their prized assets.
Asked whether he knew of Whittaker’s talent at Pride Park when he appeared as a guest on TalkSport Drive yesterday, Rooney said the matter was effectively taken out of his hands. Although Rooney claims Whittaker was sold in administration that was not the case.
He said: “I sold him! No, Morgan is a fantastic lad. Derby were in administration, so we had no option but to sell him and he went to Swansea. The one thing I said to Morgan at the time was, on the ball, he’s fantastic; he scores some fantastic goals.
“The next step now is his overall game. This season, that’s something we’ve really worked on, and he’s been fantastic. His work rate, his effort to get back and help the team out, alongside the quality he brings with his match-winner, he’s such an important player for us.
“The reason I leave him on the pitch every game is because he has moments, like you could see on Saturday, he has those moments, 97th minute, and he wins us the game. Delighted to keep him, he showed a real willingness to stay at the football club, and we’re delighted to have him.”
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