Former England captain Wayne Rooney believes the duo of Granit Xhaka and Hugo Ekitike are his signings of the season.

Recall that Xhaka joined Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen, while Ekitike joined Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.

In a chat with The Wayne Rooney Show, the former Manchester United star stated that Ekitike and Xhaka have positive impacts on their respective clubs this season.

“Ekitike and (Granit) Xhaka at Sunderland have probably been the two best signings in the Premier League.

“I really enjoy watching Ekitike play. His second goal against Newcastle in particular was brilliant, it reminds me of Romario. A little toe-poke goal but it’s instinctive.

“He is the type of player I like to watch. He’s not a number nine, he’s not a number 10. He drifts out wide, he gets on the ball, brings players into the game and he can score goals. So he’s got a bit of everything really.”