Premier League stalwart tipped as surprise managerial choice for Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship rivals

Leighton Baines only retired from football in 2020, calling time on professional football after spending over a decade playing for Everton where he made over 400 appearances in a long and respected career.

It didn’t take long for the former England international to move into coaching, and since retirement he has been working for the Toffees in their youth setup – he’s currently the manager of the club’s U18s.

But Plymouth are seeking a new man at the helm following Steven Schumacher’s decision to leave them for Stoke City this week, and Baines is being tipped as the favourite to take over the position as he makes his first foray into managing first team football on a full-time basis.

Other names in the mix at present are John Eustace, Nathan Jones, Steve Cotterill and Michael Duff, while former Sheffield United boss, Neil Warnock, is also on the list as SkyBet speculate as to who might take over at Home Park.

The Pilgrims explained on Tuesday night that Director of Football, Neil Dewsnip, and first team coach, Kevin Nancekivell, will ‘take charge of first-team duties in the interim until a suitable replacement for Schumacher has been found’, and chairman, Simon Hallett, insisted that ‘work is already under way to find a suitable replacement to lead this great football club forward’.

Plymouth face Birmingham City this weekend.