Derby County 'keen to get deal over the line' for former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has been a success since moving to DC United but could be heading back to English football. Reuters

Derby County owner Mel Morris confirmed on Tuesday that the Championship club are keen to sign former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney as a player-coach.

Rooney, 33, had been linked with the role at Pride Park, where his former England teammate Frank Lampard was given his first opportunity in management last year prior to his move this summer to Chelsea.

Rooney is under contract at Major League Soccer side DC United until the end of the 2021 season but reports suggest his wife Coleen is homesick and has returned to Britain with their children.

Reports of Derby's interest in Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer emerged shortly before the side, under new manager Phillip Cocu, opened their Championship campaign with a 2-1 victory at Huddersfield Town on Monday.

"It's literally only been a couple of days in the offing," Derby owner Mel Morris told British radio station TalkSport.

"The starting point was that we understood [Rooney] was keen to return to the UK and we decided to see if we could do something off the back of that.

"It's never done until it's done and obviously we are very focused and keen to get this over the line."

Premier League side Burnley and second-tier West Bromwich Albion have also reportedly declared an interest in Rooney, who is also the record goalscorer for England.

Rooney has engineered an upturn in DC United's fortunes since he arrived from Everton, and teammate Steve Birnbaum said he has had a major impact.

"He's changed everything, he's changed the culture of the club," Birnbaum told the Daily Telegraph.

"The work ethic he puts in during practice and you guys see it in the games. We have this sort of confidence or swag going into games because of him."

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Rooney gave short shrift to questions about his future last week.

"Is that what was in the media? That my wife has got her own way?" he told AFP. "Those reports are a bit far-fetched. I'm concentrating on playing for DC United and trying to get them into the playoffs. I haven't thought about anything beyond that."

Rooney has made no secret of his desire to move into coaching following contempories including Ryan Giggs, John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Phil Neville.

"Coaching is something which I have thought about for a long time," Rooney said.

"I'm in the process now of going through my badges. It would be a shame for me to finish playing and just walk away from the game.

"I have a desire to go into management and hopefully the right opportunity will come up."