Wayne Rooney 50/1 to be Man Utd manager, and ODDS-ON to be sacked by Birmingham before the end of the 2024/25 season

WAYNE ROONEY looks set to take charge at Birmingham City.

But bookmakers Paddy Power don't fancy his chances of success having priced the England legend at odds-on 5/6 to be sacked before the end of the 2024-25 season!

Rooney, 37, is now a free agent having left DC United by mutual consent after missing out on the MLS Cup play-offs for the fourth consecutive year.

But he's unlikely to be out of work for very long with Paddy Power pricing him at 1/5 to replace John Eustace at St Andrews.

Rooney's first role in management in England came at Derby in trying circumstances. He left with a 28.2% win rate, but ultimately couldn't save the club from relegation before leaving in June 2022.

If appointed at Birmingham, he's available at 20/1 to get the sixth-placed side promoted to the Premier League - the same price as they are to be relegated from the division.

He's offered at 25/1 to be voted the EFL's Manager of the Year this season and a triple-figure 100/1 to win the 2023-24 Championship title - a feat that would require closing a 12-point gap to leaders Leicester.

But if Wazza does the business - is he a candidate to replace Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford?

In 2022, Rooney admitted that managing Everton or Manchester United "would be a dream" with his two former clubs "close" to his heart.

He said: "Obviously, Everton and Manchester United are the two clubs who are really close to my heart so to manage one of the two would be a dream.

"I'd be naive to say 'I'm going to go and manage Manchester United in the next year or so'. For me, it's about putting the work in and developing myself and if I do that and I do it in the right way, then I feel these jobs, these opportunities will come to me eventually."

And Paddy Power rate his chances at 50/1 to return to his former club Manchester United as manager by 2026.

Spokesperson for Paddy Power, Rachael Kane, said: "Wayne Rooney has been living it up stateside but who could ignore the pull of relocating to Birmingham?

"But with his greatest managerial achievement to date almost keeping Derby in the Championship, we're not optimistic his stay in the second city will be a long one."

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