Exclusive: Everton to interview Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard for vacant manager's job

The former England team-mates Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard are to be interviewed for the vacant Everton manager’s job as the club move to a new four-strong shortlist.

Telegraph Sport understands that Derby County manager Rooney and Lampard are under strong consideration by the Everton owner Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright, the club’s chairman, and former majority owner, who is taking a key role in the recruitment process. Rooney, who began his career at Everton as a teenage prodigy at 16 and returned for a second spell at the club 13 years later after first leaving in 2004, has a contract until the end of next season at embattled Derby.

In the meantime, Everton have appointed Duncan Ferguson as caretaker manager for an unspecified period while they continue their pursuit of a new coach. The club announced on Tuesday evening that Ferguson will take charge for “the upcoming games”.

Moshiri and his business partner Alisher Usmanov appear to be working through a list of renowned football figures in the hope of finding a suitable candidate. “An announcement on a permanent managerial appointment will be made in due course,” Everton said in a statement.

An interview with Lampard would require the 43-year-old, who has been out the game since his sacking by Chelsea one year ago, to convince Usmanov and Moshiri of his credentials. Lampard is understood to be a real contender among the decision-makers at Everton. He had just one and a half seasons at Chelsea where he was stuck with a transfer embargo for the first two windows.

Nevertheless, he got the team into the Champions League in his first season and brought through a number of academy players including Mason Mount and Reece James who have become established senior England internationals.

Rooney, 36, would require some official agreement for him to be formally interviewed by the Everton board – it is not clear whether that would be the current chief executive or the administrators trying to sell the club. Uppermost in his mind may well be the gloomy warning from the Football League this week that unless Derby’s administrators Quantuma can demonstrate they have the £8 million to keep the club afloat until the end of the season Derby could be thrown out the league by the end of the month.

Ferguson took charge of first-team training at the club’s USM Finch Farm HQ on Tuesday morning as the squad began its preparations for the visit of Aston Villa to Goodison Park on Saturday. The Scot will be supported in his caretaker position by former Everton players John Ebbrell and Leighton Baines, along with goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly.

Kenwright met with Ferguson and the rest of the interim coaching team at the training ground on Tuesday. It is understood he told them they had the club's full backing.

It is the second time Ferguson has taken the caretaker role. He successfully led the side to five points from three games against Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in December 2019.

Derby are labouring under a 21-point Football League deduction and face potential liquidation in two weeks’ time. Rooney’s restoration of spirits and results at the club amid unprecedented adversity have been something of a revelation. Lampard, himself a former Derby manager, whose first experience as a coach was in 2018-2019 when he was within a game of winning promotion to the Premier League, has the more experience.

There are two other candidates in whom the club have an interest, although who remains unclear. It is understood, Jose Mourinho, 58, in his first season as Roma manager, does not want the Everton job. Victor Pereira, 53, another Portuguese coach most recently at Fenerbahce, has been of interest to the club in the past. Everton had initially tried to reappoint former manager Roberto Martinez, 48, but they could come to no agreement with the Royal Belgian Football Association to share the Spanish coach until the end of the World Cup finals in December.

Rooney certainly secured his status as one of the greatest players ever in the English game over 16 years at Everton and United, although most of that was at United. He left Everton for a second time in 2018 departing to play Major League Soccer in the United States. He has been manager at Derby for just 12 months.