Sleeping at the training ground to get transfers done, chats with Sir Alex Ferguson and a bunker mentality: Wayne Rooney has endured a managerial baptism of fire at Derby but rolls with the punches to work miracles... so will Everton come calling?

A grand old club that has fallen on hard times, floundering towards the bottom end of the table and unable to sign anyone.

Nobody would compare Everton's present situation to the horrific state of affairs at Derby County, whose very existence is in doubt.

But it's clear a certain someone who connects the two clubs is pretty handy in a crisis. For those who have followed Wayne Rooney's progress at Derby, it comes as little surprise to see him among the bookmakers' favourites to replace Rafa Benitez at Goodison Park.