Rooney offers himself as part of the new Red Devils’ coaching staff

Wayne Rooney has made it clear that a return to Manchester United in a coaching capacity would require little thought if Michael Carrick were to be placed in interim charge and invited him onto the backroom staff.

Carrick, a long-time team-mate of Rooney at both club and international level, is currently leading the race to step in at Old Trafford for the remainder of the season following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal on 5 January.

In the immediate aftermath of that decision, Darren Fletcher has been entrusted with short-term control of first-team matters, overseeing a Premier League stalemate at Burnley before an FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton.

United’s hierarchy are keen to finalise a caretaker solution before the squad reconvenes for training on Wednesday, with Carrick viewed internally as a steady, familiar option.

Appearing on the latest episode of BBC podcast The Wayne Rooney Show, the club’s all-time leading scorer spoke warmly of Carrick’s suitability for the role and insisted he would not hesitate to help if called upon.

"Whether Michael goes in or if that's Fletch or John O'Shea or myself, it needs people who know the football club," Rooney said, referencing the importance of institutional knowledge — and revealing he recently spent time holidaying with Carrick and his family in Barbados. When pressed on whether he would join Carrick’s coaching team, Rooney replied: "Of course I would. It's a no-brainer. I'm not begging a job here by the way. Just so everyone knows, if I was asked to go in of course I would. Appointing the manager is the most important thing."

The lowest Man United have been since World War I

Carrick, now 44, is no stranger to temporary responsibility at United, having briefly taken charge after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in 2021. That spell yielded two wins and a draw before he stepped aside following the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim boss.

Meanwhile, Solskjaer himself has reportedly held direct talks with the club on Saturday regarding a potential return, adding yet another layer of intrigue to an already turbulent period at Old Trafford.