David Moyes and Jack Rodwell recently reunited after the Scot was appointed as the new Sunderland boss just over a week ago. Moyes hopes the midfielder will fulfill his potential he demonstrated as a teenager.
Rodwell made his Premier League debut at just 16-years-old for Everton and was seen to be a future star at Goodison Park, but since his move to Manchester City in 2012 his career has slowly deteriorated. He joined Sunderland hoping to revive his career, but the £10 million man has been hampered by injuries during his two years at the Stadium of Light.
A good chance of reviving his career
The Scotsman will become the fourth manager to attempt to turn the 25-year-old’s career around, but will have the best chance of doing so with the pair knowing each other so well.
In an interview with the Sunderland Echo, the 53-year-old said: “He’s never really found a level of consistency. He had great potential as a boy, and was a very comfortable football player who could do a bit of everything.”
Wrong path taken
Moyes admits that moving to Manchester City was only a bad thing for Rodwell, and he hoped that his move to Sunderland back in 2014 would kick-start his career. He went on to say: “There needs to be a driven desire to become a better player and that he will to step on to overcome difficult situations.”
Former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce was a fan of the midfielder, but was only able to play him in just over half of last season’s games due to the player's injury or lack of match fitness.
Rodwell has featured in pre-season a fair bit, but was left out last time out against Montpellier as an injury precaution. The Black Cats are lacking numbers in midfield and are still yet to bring a new face through the door, which may mean Rodwell could be handed a start come August 13 against his former club Manchester City.