Wayne Rooney has turned down the chance to join Erik ten Hag’s new coaching team at Manchester United, choosing to instead stay at Derby County.
52-year-old Ten Hag was confirmed as the new United boss on Thursday after weeks of speculation and will take charge at Old Trafford at the end of campaign.
United are now in the process of assembling the rest of his coaching staff, with the personnel who remained from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure set to leave, with Ten Hag aiming to make a fresh start at the club.
And The Athletic have reported that the club’s former skipper and all-time record goal scorer Rooney was on the list of the candidates for a position in the new manager’s team.
The legendary forward was ‘informally proposed as a possibility for the coaching staff,’ but rejected the offer, making it clear to United that he would only leave Derby for a No.1 position.
Although their relegation to League One was confirmed on Monday, Rooney has received huge acclaim for his efforts at Derby since becoming their manager last year, guiding the club through administration and being deducted 21 points.
He currently looks set to remain in charge of the Rams for next campaign, although he has been linked with the vacant Burnley job and was even invited to interview for Everton this year after the sacking of Rafa Benitez.
And, Rooney was not the only iconic United striker linked with a return to Old Trafford, with Robin van Persie also mentioned but the 38-year-old has now been ruled out after he could not secure a work permit.
As for who will be joining Ten Hag in the dugout, his current assistant at Ajax, Mitchell van der Gaag, looks set to join him at Manchester, while Steve McClaren is also in line for a return at Ten Hag’s request.
The former Middlesbrough and England manager worked with Ten Hag at FC Twente and also spent more than a year as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at United during their treble-winning season of 1998/99.
