Everton using Football Manager computer game

Premiership giant Everton is to use a bestselling computer game to pick promising players.

The club has signed a deal with the makers of Football Manager to get an early look at its database of 370,000 players worldwide.

The footballers are researched and rated by Football Manager's huge team of scouts across the world so its players can pick dream sides.

Among the stars that Football Manager has picked out in the past are Wayne Rooney and Argentinian wizard Lionel Messi.

Football Manager's Miles Jacobson said: "This formal recognition by a Premier League team is fantastic."