Rio Ferdinand believes Wayne Rooney would jump at the chance to become Everton manager if offered the chance.
The Derby County boss is one of the favourites to replace Rafael Benitez, who was given the chop over the weekend after a disastrous run of results.
The Merseyside club are believed to have made contact with Roberto Martinez, the Belgium manager, over a return to the club he managed between 2013 and 2016.
But with Martinez wanting to head to the World Cup, and the Belgium FA standing firm over his position, they'e having to look at other options - with Rams boss Rooney among them.
Ferdinand played with Rooney for a decade at Manchester United, from 2004 to 2014, and believes his old teammate would find it hard to say no if approached by his boyhood club.
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“You take the (Everton) job in a heartbeat (if you’re Rooney)," Ferdinand said on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube series.
“If he could have it his way, I’m sure he’d say, ‘listen, keep Big Dunc (Ferguson) as the interim, let me keep Derby up and I’ll be there in the summer’ but that’s hugely unlikely.
“Martinez has got to relinquish going to the World Cup.
“You can see Rooney – boyhood club and Big Dunc is his mate, his idol growing up, knows the fabric of the club.”
Ferdinand has been impressed by Rooney's handling of an extremely testing situation at Derby.
Last weekend saw him toast his first year in the hotseat and despite a myriad of off-field dramas to contend with, his side are attempting to pull off one of the greatest survivals in English football history.
Ferdinand added: “I've seen a different Wayne Rooney to the one I grew up with and saw grow up at Man United, it was a real positive experience. It was the confidence and I didn’t expect it from such a young coach.
“I thought there’d be a lot of, ‘ermmmm’ – you see the interviews, no disrespect – but he was just calm man, I was so impressed. The results he is getting off the back of it, I’m not surprised.
“Wazza is good at detail, his game was about detail. People would think it was hustle and bustle and bang, a shot out of nowhere but to be the player he was you had to understand details and it is about translating that into the team.
“He was taking people off to the side saying ‘I want this, I want that’ and it was really good. I’m not saying he is the next Sir Alex or the next Pep but he is on the right track.”
Rooney was linked with an Everton return earlier this season but remained coy on the subject at the time.
He said: "I obviously came up through Everton 's Academy, Everton fan, but I see the reports and I have had no communication with Everton Football Club.
"As far as I am aware they have got a manager in place, so for me to discuss anything like that, it's not my place to do that. As I have said I am committed to this club.
"I've had no conversations with Everton Football Club regarding the manager's job so it's not even something I'm thinking about."
