Wayne Rooney is the leading candidate to take charge of Plymouth Argyle, with the Championship club keen on offering the former England captain a return to management.

Rooney has been out of work since being sacked by Birmingham in January, 83 days into a three-and-half-year contract.

Plymouth are keen to hold further talks with Rooney, who knows the Devon club’s director of football, Neil Dewsnip, from his days at Everton, where Dewsnip previously worked in the academy.

Argyle have also spoken to the former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom about the vacancy. Dewsnip finished the season in caretaker charge after the sacking of former England Under-20s coach Ian Foster.

Rooney has also previously managed DC United and Derby County. In February the 38-year-old underlined his desire to return to management.

He said: “It was a setback what happened at Birmingham but I’m a fighter and I want to get back into it. You know as a manager [being sacked] is part of the job and you will have setbacks. It’s about how you bounce back. I’ve had some good time to reflect and will make sure I get it right next time.”