Wayne Rooney eyed up for return to England as he emerges a possible target for Tom Brady’s Birmingham City should manager John Eustace leave the club 

Wayne Rooney has emerged as a possible target for Birmingham in the event John Eustace leaves the club.

The former England captain is currently in charge of Washington club DC United in the United States but has experience of managing in English football, thanks to a spell in charge of crisis-torn Derby from 2021-22.

Birmingham – who are part owned by former NFL star Tom Brady – have made a strong start to the season under Eustace heading into the international break.

Eustace has done a solid job since taking charge more than a year ago, leading Blues to comfortable survival last term despite significant off-field uncertainty, and overseeing a promising start to the new campaign under the club’s American owners.

As a result, there are no suggestions that Eustace will be sacked as it stands.

There are no suggestions that current Birmingham boss John Eustace (above) will be sacked as it stands, having made an excellent start to the season ahead of the international break

The new group in charge includes Brady and the seven-time Super Bowl winner attended the home game against Leeds in August.

Eustace signed a contract until 2025 when he replaced Lee Bowyer in summer 2022. He was a target for Swansea in the close season before the club appointed Michael Duff. He is also a possible candidate for Rangers should they dismiss Michael Beale.

Rooney’s deal with DC United expires in December and on September 3 he expressed frustration at a lack of progress with contract discussions.

He told the Washington Post: ‘I am slightly disappointed and frustrated there has been no contact for two months.

‘We asked about a new deal. We can sit down and talk about it. We haven’t heard back.

‘Either way, I can take whatever the situation is. I was hoping we would have, either way, at least spoken about it. That hasn’t been the case.

NFL legend Tom Brady, right, invested in Birmingham earlier this summer and visited his new club ahead of their Championship clash with Leeds United at St Andrew’s Stadium in August

Rooney, whose deal with DC United expires in December, expressed his frustration at a lack of progress with contract discussions last month, having impressed during his time as manager

‘That’s frustrating because, either way, I’d rather know what’s the plan because we have to plan for next season. We need to do it earlier rather than later. The fact we haven’t heard back is probably signalling one thing, but I’m sure they’ll have their reasons for that. So I’ll wait and see.’

DC United are currently ninth in the 15-team Eastern Conference, with the top nine clubs qualifying for the end-of-season play-offs. The final round of matches in the regular seasons falls on October 21.

When asked about his future at Blues last April – before the takeover – Eustace said: ‘It’s been great, I’m working for a fantastic football club. We’ve created a really good environment here, it’s been great to come in, work and see the development of the players.

‘We want to build something special and there’s a lot of hard work ahead but we’re all ready to do it.’