Did Wayne Rooney start Blackburn rumours? Rovers react to talk of Man Utd legend returning to management at Ewood Park

Talk of managerial change at Ewood Park is doing the rounds again as the former Premier League champions appear set to miss out on a place in the Championship play-offs. They have spent much of the 2024-25 campaign in and around the top six.

With another campaign of second tier football beckoning, there has been speculation to suggest that head coach Valerien Ismael will soon be relieved of his duties despite only taking the reins in February.

Manchester United legend Rooney, who has flopped in his last two roles at Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle, has seen a return to the dugout mooted as Blackburn supposedly begin their search for a new boss.

Rovers’ head of football operations has, however, rubbished gossip that lacks any substance, with Rudy Gestede telling the ‘No Tippy Tappy Podcast’: “We cannot control the media. That’s their job to try to give information around. I don’t know if it’s from an agent or Wayne Rooney himself, I don’t think so, but you never know. It’s never been the plan.

“We are happy with Valerien, we want to give him time. We chose him because of the project, and it doesn’t make sense to make a decision now.

“Valerien has just started, and we have been losing games, and the media said we were losing games because he had his hands in his pocket and he wasn’t showing emotions, and that’s why the players weren’t performing at their best. Now we are winning games, he still has his hands in his pockets, so what can they say about this now?”

Blackburn have taken maximum points from their last three fixtures. They appear to have left a promotion push too late, while there has been no indication that North West-based Rooney - after previously seeing ex-England colleague Steven Gerrard linked with Rovers - would be interested in a role at Ewood if one were to become available.