Exclusive: Wayne Rooney primed to decimate former side with Birmingham war chest in January

Birmingham City are set to hand new manager Wayne Rooney a huge budget during the January window and TEAMtalk understands that he wants to raid his former club Derby County.

During his time at Pride Park, Rooney helped bring through a host of young talents and now back in England – he is ready to make a move on his former club.

TEAMtalk understands that Louie Sibley, Liam Thompson, Max Bird and Eiran Cashin could all be targets of the Rams’ Midlands rivals after Rooney was appointed Blues manager on a three-and-a-half year deal.

His appointment follows the sacking of John Eustace, with Birmingham sixth in the Championship.

Central defender Cashin, 21, and midfielder Thompson, also 21, were both given their debuts at Derby by Rooney, whilst 22-year-old Sibley and 23-year-old Bird became first-team regulars under the former Manchester United star.

The England legend managed 73 games for Derby, winning 22 of those, while he was also at the helm for 17 draws. Since his departure, a lot of the players he nurtured have become very important assets.

Cashin has played the most minutes of any Rams player this season, while Sibley has scored three goals this term, and the boss would love to see that sort of impact with Birmingham.

Derby are keen to keep hold of their youngsters, but all four were the subject of interest in the summer from various clubs. Brighton failed with a late bid to sign Cashin, whilst Bird was wanted by Hull.

Moreover, Derby have an issue with the fact all four players are out of contract at Pride Park in the summer and failure to tie them down to new deals could see Rooney push ahead with interest in the New Year.

READ MORE: Wayne Rooney to become next Birmingham manager as Man Utd legend pencils in Premier League icons as assistants