With Everton finally relieving Rafa Benitez of his services as manager, the Toffees are now on the hunt for a new boss to lead them forward – and that man could be Wayne Rooney.

According to Sky Sports Transfer Centre (16/01, 16:37), he could move to Goodison Park if an approach is made for his services. There are several names in the hat for the vacant role and there will be other candidates who perhaps seem better suited with more experience of top flight management both in England and elsewhere.

However, it isn’t the first time that Rooney has been linked with the job and now seems as good a time as ever to make the leap with the managerial position currently free to fill.

But is it the right move for him and for Everton?

Is it a good potential move?

Everton may hold some reservations due to his lack of Premier League managerial experience but someone will need to take a gamble on him at some point and for Toffees fans, they’ll probably think that anything now is better than Benitez.

The club will want to push on up the table and Rooney does represent a gamble considering it is unclear how he will fare a division higher. All signs from the Championship though point to him being a fairly shrewd appointment.

For the man himself, a deal would be very good. His stock has never been higher than it is right now and the work he has put in for the Rams so far is admirable. Despite their off-field issues, he has dragged them off the bottom of the table and there is every chance he could complete ‘Mission Impossible’ and get them out of the drop zone entirely.

He would no doubt relish the chance to test himself in the top flight as a manager and with Everton being his former club, he would no doubt be keen to help them out. Derby are currently in the middle of somewhat of a selling spree due to their issues too – and if they need to clear out assets, Rooney going is certainly possible.

What does he offer?

Rooney has so far proven to be adept at steadying a ship – or at least trying to – and helping teams out during a crisis. At Derby he began shakily but just about kept them up in his first season and has gone from strength-to-strength since.

This year, if they didn’t have their points deductions, they would currently be sat near the top half of the table. It is an incredible feat considering their budget and the players available to them and it is a testament to how much Rooney has grown as a manager.

He’s had to learn very quickly on the job and there have been some ups and downs but right now, he appears to have grasped what he needs to do to make things work as a boss and it is paying dividends for the Rams.

He has his own style now, he can get results against some of the best teams in the league and whilst his team often doesn’t dominate possession, they still get the job done.

Right now, Everton need someone who can grind out the results in hard games and steer them away from the drop. Rooney has done that in the second tier and if he can carry his form over to the Premier League, then he could do similar there too.

It would be a blow for Derby, who would likely suffer from his departure and it might condemn them to a relegation that right now seems like it is not a certainty. If they can hold onto him, then expect them to try though.