Derby County fans could be set for another few months of frustration if they do not get the issues that they've had for the last year sorted anytime soon - but they are hoping that better days are coming.

The Rams have suffered from failed takeovers in recent times from both an Abu Dhabi consortium and Spanish businessman Erik Alonso - who promised so much but wasn't given the chance to deliver with Mel Morris pulling the plug.

What we do know is that a takeover is seemingly needed for Wayne Rooney to start doing some summer transfer business, with County currently operating under a transfer embargo.

They cannot spend transfer fees right now and they didn't in January either, with Rooney using the loan market towards the end of the window.

That's a route that the England legend may have to go down again when it comes to new arrivals so let's look at 10 Premier League players who will be gunning for game-time next season and who could find it at Pride Park.

A name very familiar to Derby fans, Clarke has already spent the last two seasons on loan at Pride Park - so why not extend it for a third time.

Deemed not ready for Premier League football when he signed for Brighton in the summer of 2019, centre-back Clarke headed for the Rams and over the last two seasons he's appeared in 77 Championship games.

Obviously he was part of a defence last season that was almost relegated but Clarke is better than that, and with perhaps a more talented player next to him for the whole season he could flourish again.

Brighton should have no problems with letting him out on loan again - he's realistically not getting into their starting 11 anytime soon and if a takeover goes through then who knows, Clarke could return permanently.

Whatever happens with Clarke, Derby need more than one centre-back due to the contract situations of Andre Wisdom and Curtis Davies and they must be scouting around clubs to see who is available at this moment in time.

There's not many better academies than Arsenal in the country and one of their young centre-backs Daniel Ballard impressed massively for Blackpool last season in League One, playing 28 times and scoring twice.

A five-cap international for Northern Ireland at the age of just 21, Ballard is clearly really talented and Charles Watts of football.london believes that the Gunners are ready to sanction a loan move to the Championship for him.

The Seasiders will be one of the five teams interested in Ballard but considering their lack of depth at the back, Derby would be silly to not be in for him as well.

If Rooney decides to go with a back four next season then he's covered at left-back with the experience of Craig Forsyth and youth of Lee Buchanan, but the latter has transfer interest from the Premier League.

However if Rooney opts for a three centre-back and wing-back system then Buchanan will need competition, and Maatsen could provide that.

The 19-year-old Chelsea man experienced his first taste of the EFL this past season at Charlton Athletic, playing the majority of his 31 League One games at left-back however he showed his versatility by playing on both wings on occasion.

Maatsen would definitely provide an attacking impetus down that left side and a move into the Championship is definitely the next step in his progression.

One transfer link from January that will seemingly not go away is that of Matty Longstaff, who if you believe reports is looking for a way out of Newcastle this summer.

Longstaff made just five Premier League appearances last season, with Steve Bruce preferring more experienced options and to further his development, the 21-year-old may need to make a switch to the EFL to progress.

The likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and his brother Sean are keeping him out of the picture at the Magpies and even though midfield is where Derby don't look to bad in terms of strength in depth, Longstaff would add a different dimension to what they already have.

If Longstaff isn't a viable target, then Jamie Shackleton could be of interest.

Marcelo Bielsa saw Shackleton's talents as a teenager when he arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2018, promoting him to the senior ranks immediately and since then, the midfielder has played 61 times in all competitions.

With the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich and others to compete with though, the 21-year-old was restricted to just 11 Premier League appearances last season - the majority coming from off the bench.

Shackleton will not want his progression to stall and a season of regular football in the Championship could be beneficial to both him and Leeds - Shackleton is probably a little similar to Jason Knight but a bit more energetic and he could provide cover at right-back as well.

Another Leeds player who could really prosper with a season in the Championship is Poveda, who is a mercurial attacking talent ready to explode with regular minutes.

Having gone through some of the world's best academies such as Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea, Poveda clearly has something about him and Bielsa somewhat trusts him, having made 14 Premier League outings last season.

But he isn't going to jump the likes of Raphinha, Jack Harrison and Helder Costa in the pecking order, and with Derby short on wing options they could swoop for the youngster, who could be a Premier League regular in 2022 with a season in the Championship under his belt.

Reports have suggested that Derby's rivals Nottingham Forest are eyeing up a move for Brighton starlet Longman after he impressed in a League One loan spell with AFC Wimbledon last season.

Capable of playing on the wing or as a striker, Longman netted eight times for the Dons and with the 20-year-old into the last year of his deal at the Seagulls, Forest are pursuing a permanent move.

But with Derby lacking in both areas, they could swoop to bring Longman in on loan if Brighton can convince him to pen a new deal, which he may only do if he has a guaranteed pathway into the senior setup in a couple of years time.

There isn't any guarantee that Longman would be able to make that step up, but he could be worth a punt.

Strikers are the most exciting signings of any team's summer, and it would be foolish of Derby if they didn't try to entice a former Ram back to Pride Park.

Whilst he may have never played for the club in a senior capacity, Liam Delap spent 10 years in Derby's academy since he was a child before being snapped up by Manchester City two years ago, and he's clearly thriving in their setup.

Delap has already broke his scoring duck for City's first team in the EFL Cup and he's been a revelation in the Premier League 2 competition for the under-23's, scoring 24 times in 20 outings last season and he's definitely ready for a spell in the EFL - who better to join than a club he already knows?

Strikers are definitely needed at Pride Park this summer as Rooney is in short supply of them, with just Colin Kazim-Richards right now contracted for next season.

Delap is one that will be of interest but Folarin Balogun should be as well after recently penning a new long-term Arsenal contract.

His situation was of much interest across European clubs last season but now he's sticking with Arsenal, he could potentially head to the Championship in order to accelerate his development.

It worked for his team-mate Eddie Nketiah and like Delap is another one who had a good scoring record in Premier League 2 - nine goals in 18 matches - but he also netted twice for Arsenal in the Europa League last season.

Kazim-Richards could do with being complemented by some pace next to him and Balogun has a lot of that to offer.

If Derby want to push the boat out though then there's not many better scorers at Championship level around than Dwight Gayle.

Gayle's record at that level stands at 100 games and 49 goals across three separate seasons for Peterborough, Newcastle and West Brom and it doesn't look like he has a future at St. James' Park.

Bigger teams will be interested in Gayle - the likes of Fulham who have just been relegated to the second tier have been linked - so whilst Derby will no doubt have interest they could already be priced out of doing anything.

But there's no harm in trying and pairing Gayle next to Kazim-Richards could be an absolute match made in heaven.