Wayne Rooney eyes shock Premier League managerial job

Suraj Radia

• 14 Feb 2023 16:03 GMT
• 2 min read

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney is eyeing a Premier League return after throwing his name into the mix for the vacant managerial position at strugglers Southampton.

The Saints sacked Nathan Jones this weekend after just three months and 14 games at the helm following a defeat against ten-man Wolves, which left Southampton bottom of the league and four points off safety.

Rooney has been in charge at DC United since July last year, however he has lost nine and won just two of his 14 games with the MLS side.

DEPARTURES: Which managers have been sacked this season?

The former England international had previously spent two years in charge of Derby County but could not stop the club from being relegated from the Championship following significant financial difficulty and a points deduction.

Despite his poor record as a manager so far, only winning 26 of his 99 matches, Rooney would relish the chance to return to English football according to talkSPORT.

However, his desire to succeed Jones may fall on deaf ears after reports that Southampton are likely to appoint Jesse Marsch, who himself was sacked by Leeds earlier this month.

Southampton on the decline after poor managerial decisions

Southampton are favourites for Premier League relegation having lost nine of their ten games, with seven of those coming since Jones was brought in to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Hasenhuttl had been at Southampton for four years before he was sacked in November after the club slipped into the relegation zone but their fortunes have only worsened since then.

The Saints opted to hire Jones, who had impressed across two spells with Luton Town in the Championship but the Welshman quickly found himself out of his depth in the top flight.

A string of bad results and bizarre quotes in his press conferences only made things more difficult for Jones and he paid the price for a poor loss against Wolves, where he claimed playing against ten men was more detrimental for his team.

Marsch is believed to have verbally agreed to join Southampton, with the club hoping he can repeat the instant impact he had on Leeds when he was hired in February last year, keeping them up despite failing to capitalise further this season.

Leeds sacked Marsch with the club sitting 17th but they have yet to find a replacement for him and they could hire an interim until the end of the season after being rejected by their top targets.