Derby County manager Phillip Cocu has remained tight-lipped over rumours that Wayne Rooney could be about to sign for the Championship outfit.
The 33-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Rams and sources have told Goal that should Rooney sign for the club it would be in a player-coach role.
Key to the former Manchester United striker’s decision could be the opportunity to return to England as he could commute to Derby from his home in Cheshire, while also being offered the chance to further his coaching career.
Speaking after Derby’s opening-day 2-1 victory over Huddersfield Town, Cocu refused to be drawn on the matter.
“At the moment I cannot say anything,” the 48-year-old told Sky Sports.
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"Like I said before, the team we are working on completing, the team we said is not complete yet, it’s true we are working on getting the team done. I cannot say anything about names before things are done.
"We have a lot of players we think could be an asset for the team, you try to get the best you can with resources you have at the club. A few more days and hopefully I can tell you something more,” he added.
The news on Monday that Rooney is considering returning to England and leaving DC United was greeted with general shock given his form for the MLS club since signing for them in 2018.
Under his guidance, DC reached the MLS postseason last year and are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference.
So far in the 2019 season, Rooney has registered an impressive 13 goals from 25 appearances in all competitions and believes he could still cut in the Premier League.
Should he make the move to Derby, England’s all-time leading scorer would be following in the steps of Frank Lampard by making his first move into coaching at Pride Park, with the latter, of course, departing the Rams this summer to take over at Chelsea.
In his place, Cocu has signed Graeme Shinnie and Krystian Bielik on permanent deals, while bolstering his ranks with Kieran Dowell and Matthew Clarke on loan.
They also began the 2019-20 season in a positive manner and a spirited first-half showing from Tom Lawrence ensured they left Yorkshire with three points from a 2-1 win on Monday night.
