Birmingham City have identified England legend Wayne Rooney as a potential successor to manager John Eustace should he decide to leave the club, according to the Telegraph.
Reports emerged yesterday that Scottish giants Rangers were considering the 43-year-old as a potential replacement for Michael Beale should they decide to make a managerial change during the international break following the club’s poor start to the season.
The Glasgow-based side have won two of their opening four league fixtures and exited the Champions League last month with a two-legged defeat against Eredivisie runners-up PSV Eindhoven. The loss against bitter rivals Celtic at the weekend piled the pressure on the former Queens Park Rangers boss and he faces an anxious wait to see if he will remain in charge for the next fixture against St Johnstone on September 16th.
Eustace has done a wonderful job at Birmingham since his appointment last summer, avoiding relegation despite being one of the favourites to drop to League One. The Blues are one of two clubs to maintain an unbeaten start to the season and they currently sit fourth in the Championship table.
However, the West Midlands side are drawing up a list of potential successors in case their man decides to depart St Andrew’s, and it is claimed that their new US owners – which includes investment from NFL legend Tom Brady – want a big name to take charge.
This has seen Rooney’s name top the list, with the former Manchester United striker currently at the helm of MLS side D.C. United. The 37-year-old was previously in charge at Derby County, overseeing their relegation to League One. However, he was widely praised for his time at Pride Park and it was accepted that he was fighting a losing battle, with the Rams spending the entirety of the 2021/22 season in administration.
It is claimed that Rooney is becoming frustrated with life at D.C. and is unhappy that contract talks appear to have stalled, with his current deal set to expire in December.
Writer’s View
After heading to America last summer, it seems only a matter of time before another English club takes a punt on Rooney. Birmingham are a club that are seemingly on the rise whilst the one-time England record goalscorer is expected to have a big future at managerial level. However, Eustace is doing a great job. It would be a risk moving north of the border, where the expectations are far greater than those currently at St Andrew’s.
It’s a good thing that Birmingham are preparing for any eventuality though, and it shows that the club is now being run properly. Knee-jerk reactions are never good, and a contingency plan is always handy to have in place.
