Wayne Rooney has turned down the chance to join Erik ten Hag’s backroom team at Manchester United in order to see out his managerial duties at Derby County, according to reports. The Red Devils are widely expected to appoint Ten Hag as their next permanent manager in advance of next season and the Dutchman is said to be keen on having at least one former United player in his coaching ranks upon his arrival at Old Trafford.
Robin van Persie, who currently works as a coach at Feyenoord, has been heavily linked with a return to United over the last few days to assist Ten Hag in his new role at the club. Rooney was also identified as one of several candidates for an assistant coaching role before rejecting his former employers in order to remain in charge of Derby until the end of the season, according to Stretty News.
The report claims that Rooney was the candidate that drew the most enthusiasm from United’s directors but he insisted during preliminary talks that he was determined to stay at Derby, who look set to be relegated into League One after a number of points deductions over the course of this season. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were also said to have been approached by United but turned down the chance to return to the club for various different reasons.
The situation leaves Van Persie as the clear frontrunner for the role, with Ten Hag hoping for United to have a deal wrapped up for an ex-player ahead of the summer months. Van Persie could reportedly ask United to sign his son, Shaqueel, to the club’s academy setup as part of any deal to join Ten Hag at the Red Devils in a coaching capacity next season.
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It remains to be seen whether Van Persie will eventually be poached by United over the coming months or if the club’s hierarchy will decide to go in a different direction after losing out with their first-choice option in Rooney. The Dutchman has previously insisted that his coaching philosophy is centred around helping young players to develop to the best of their abilities in a potential hint at what Ten Hag could benefit from if the former can be tempted to join his backroom team at Old Trafford.
“I was a player who was creative and I never liked a coach who told me what to do exactly because I wanted my freedom, so now what I try to do is have two parts to my coaching style,” Van Persie told The Star a year ago when quizzed on his approach to his coaching career.
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“One, you have the team philosophy, and two, you have the personal way of working together with the players. At any time I try to always [get them] to keep their freedom.
“All these guys are really talented and that is why they’re playing at such a good club. It’s constantly trying to find that balance of making them play from your philosophy, but still let them be creative in their own way.”
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