According to a report from The Sun, Stoke City are interested in getting Wayne Rooney in as their manager this summer should Michael O'Neill depart. 

Stoke have had a poor season and currently find themselves 15th in the table with nothing to play for.

Although nothing is confirmed as of yet, it looks increasingly likely that O'Neill will go as the Potters look to rebuild themselves in summer and push for a better season next year.

What do we know so far?

The Sun recently reported that Wayne Rooney was one of the names on the list for the potential replacement of O'Neill should he part ways with Stoke this summer.

Also on the list are ex-Norwich manager Daniel Farke who has recently left his managerial job in Russia and Tony Mowbray who is currently with Blackburn Rovers.

The verdict of who is currently the front runner for the job is currently unknown but given Stoke's poor season which has been further shown through their one win, two losses and two draws, both of which came against sides in the relegation battle, in their previous five games it seems they will be looking for a change at the club ahead of next season.

Currently Wayne Rooney's Derby County sit at the bottom of the Championship and eight points from safety with seven games to go.

Although they've had an impressive season, starting it with a points deduction, time is running out and the great escape is looking more unlikely.

Therefore, if Derby find themselves in League One it may further Stoke's case for tempting Rooney back to the higher level.

Is it likely to happen?

It's a hard one to judge. Of course Wayne Rooney will want to manage to the best of his ability and at the top level that he can.

However, back in January he confirmed he had turned down an interview when he was approached by Everton about their vacant managerial position despite the fact he's always been an Everton fan.

He vowed he would stay at Derby and do everything he could to help them stay up showing his loyalty to the players and fans there.

Although Derby do look likely to go down now, depending how their off the pitch financial situations resolve, Wayne Rooney may feel like he wants to stay with the club again next year in an attempt to get them back up to the Championship where he feels the club belongs.

You have to consider whether Rooney will leave Derby this year knowing he did all he could and fought to the end but now intends to prioritise his own career or whether he thinks there's a chance he could earn legend status if he could stay and bring his Derby side back up.

It looks like a decision that could depend on some off the pitch resolutions and therefore, it looks to be a situation that we may just have to wait and see about.