‌Jeffers made his first-team debut for Everton as a 16-year-old on Boxing Day 1997, replacing captain Dave Watson at the interval. I’m thinking: ‘What have I done? We’re leaving Bellefield at 8 o’clock on Christmas night, and going to a hotel in Manchester.’“The chinos are off, the Everton trackie is on. I just am, like him (points at Rooney), we’re Everton people, our families are Everton people, we love Everton. “If I was going to leave Everton, I wasn’t going to anyone who, no disrespect, was mediocre.

Source: The Star March 09, 2026 14:08 UTC