Birmingham City eyeing up 4 Derby County players following Wayne Rooney appointment | OneFootball

After plenty of speculation over the last few days, Wayne Rooney has finally been confirmed as Birmingham City's new head coach.

Rooney has signed a three-and-a-half years deal to replace John Eustace at the Blues in a decision that hasn't been taken well by some - especially when City are currently sitting in sixth place in the Championship table.

There has been suggestions that Rooney is going to be well and truly backed by the new ownership group in a bid to bolster the squad as soon as the transfer window re-opens at the start of 2024.

And according to a report from TEAMtalk, Rooney is already eyeing up a quick raid on his former club Derby County for a handful of their players when the January transfer window comes around.

Which Derby County players is Wayne Rooney interested in for Birmingham City?

TEAMtalk believe that included in the four players that Rooney wants to bring to St Andrew's is centre-back Eiran Cashin.

A Derby academy graduate, Cashin was handed his senior debut by Rooney in December 2021 and became a regular fixture under the England legend.

The centre-back's development has come on leaps and bounds and Brighton & Hove Albion, who have a good eye for a player, tried to sign the 21-year-old late on in the summer window, but a deal could not be done in time.

With a valuation of around £4 million though, Cashin wouldn't come cheap, but with his contract ticking down, a lesser price could be agreed.

Also on Rooney's hit-list is midfielder Max Bird, who was a target for Hull City over the summer with the suggestions that his head had been turned from Championship interest.

Another midfielder in Liam Thompson, who was also handed his debut by Rooney in 2021, is on Birmingham's transfer radar despite by no means being a regular under Paul Warne with the Rams, and the Blues are also keen on Louie Sibley.

The versatile attacking midfielder, who has also filled in at left-back and wing-back, was a team-mate of Rooney's when he was contracted to County and was then managed by him, and he netted six times in all competitions last season.

Are any of the four Derby players realistic signings for Birmingham?

Considering there was Premier League interest in Cashin over the summer, it may be pretty difficult for Birmingham to land his services in particular.

You'd imagine that Brighton will be back in for the Republic of Ireland youth international as soon as January comes around, but it would be a real coup if Rooney was able to re-unite with Cashin.

As for the other potential targets, Bird would be the best of the rest as he could definitely strengthen the engine room at St Andrew's, giving a new option alongside Krystian Bielik and Ivan Sunjic.

Thompson though would perhaps be an underwhelming one as he may not be ready for Championship football, whilst Sibley hasn't really lived up to the promise that he showed a couple of years ago whilst in the second tier with County.