Update on John Eustace and his position as Birmingham City manager’s replacement are made clear

Despite rumors that Wayne Rooney is about to take over at St. Andrew’s, Birmingham City manager John Eustace has apparently not yet been informed that his job is in jeopardy.

As we approach the October international break, Blues are sixth in the Championship after beating local rival West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on Friday night, but it hasn’t stopped rumors about Eustace’s future from circulating.

How is John Eustace doing with Birmingham City these days?
Several rumors surfaced over the weekend claiming that Birmingham was interested in Rooney, who left DC United at the conclusion of the 2023 MLS season, since Eustace’s future was uncertain.

After completing their takeover in the summer, the new American owners are rumored to have considered making a “big-name appointment, and they reportedly believe the former England captain has the “profile, potential, and status to elevate the club.”

It is believed that CEO Gary Cook would spearhead the change.

Since then, according to BBC journalist Aaron Paul, Rooney is most likely to be in Birmingham “very, very soon,” while John O’Shea and Ashley Cole are anticipated to join as coaches.

The club loves the former Manchester United striker, according to a story from The Times, but Eustace hasn’t been informed that his position is in jeopardy.

After his time in the US, Rooney is believed to want to go back to the UK to be nearer to his family.

Would it be a good idea to replace John Eustace with Wayne Rooney?
To fire Eustace and bring in Rooney at this moment would be insane.

Since taking over in the summer of 2022, the former has performed admirably at Birmingham.

They outperformed expectations by avoiding the relegation fight last season, and this season, despite a lot of team turnover throughout the summer, they have been one of the Championship’s pleasant surprises.

Of course, things haven’t always gone well, and questions about his playing style have occasionally been addressed, but there’s no disputing that Eustace has the Blues punching beyond their weight.

He appears to be one of the EFL’s more promising young managers based on what we’ve seen so far, and the Birmingham owners should have complete faith in him.

To date, Tom Wagner and company have been a breath of fresh air at St Andrew’s, but switching Rooney in place of Eustace would be a mistake and run the risk of alienating the fans.

Rooney performed admirably at Derby, virtually saving them from being down to League One despite extremely challenging conditions.

He will undoubtedly have another opportunity to demonstrate his abilities in the EFL, but from what we have seen of him thus far as a coach, it is not clear that he is an improvement over Eustace.