
Jack Wilshere emerges as favourite for job to follow in Wayne Rooney's footsteps
Former Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere is in the running for a new job in the EFL amid claims the ex-Norwich City coach will hold talks with Plymouth Argyle
Jack Wilshere is among the betting frontrunners for the Plymouth Argyle vacancy and is said to be open to taking the job ahead of talks with the Home Park hierarchy.
Plymouth are on the lookout for a new manager after Miron Muslic left abruptly last week. The 42-year-old was offered the chance to take over at Schalke and informed Argyle he would not be returning to lead them in League One for the 2025-26 campaign.
A host of names have already been linked with the Pilgrims, who will be bidding to make an instant return to the Championship following relegation last term.
And Wilshere has emerged as one of the frontrunners according to betting sites, just days after leaving his role at Norwich City.
The former Arsenal and England midfielder, 32, ended the season in the Carrow Road hotseat after Norwich dispensed with the services of Johannes Hoff Thorup. But Wilshere his since left the Norfolk outfit after being told he would not land the job permanently.
He could return to the dugout swiftly, though, with The Sun claiming that Wilshere and Plymouth are planning to hold talks over the Home Park vacancy.
Wilshere is said to be interested in the role and, crucially, would likely accept it if Plymouth were to offer him the chance to become their head coach.
If he were to take the job, Wilshere would become the second former England star to rock up at Home Park in 12 months after Plymouth appointed Wayne Rooney as their head coach last summer.
Unfortunately for Argyle and Rooney, the Manchester United legend's spell in Devon was short-lived; he left the club on New Year's Eve amid growing fears over their second tier status after overseeing just four league wins.
Muslic came in and, after steadying the ship, came close to keeping Plymouth up. But the manner of his departure has left fans and the club furious, with Argyle chairman, Simon Hallett, taking aim at the Bosnian-born Austrian in a statement.
"After the season ended, and with rumours flying that Miron was attracting interest from other clubs, I called him personally and he assured me that he was 100% committed to Argyle. His colleagues had no indication that he wanted to leave," Hallett said.
"Last Saturday, Miron informed the club that he wished to speak with Schalke with a view to joining them. Under his contract, a club wishing to speak with him needs Argyle's prior permission. We were unwilling to give such permission, but Miron informed us that under no circumstances was he going to return to Plymouth. Thus, we reluctantly gave the necessary permission.
"By making clear his intention never to return, Miron gave us no choice but to move on. We could have insisted on the full compensation and gone to court to enforce his contract but would not have had his services as head coach, and progress on recruiting a replacement would have been blocked.
"Rather than get mired in a protracted, and highly disruptive, process we settled for an amount of compensation that, while below the contracted sum, is a strong financial outcome for a League One head coach, enabling us to move on positively."
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