It has been a mixed start to life as manager of Derby County for Phillip Cocu, who is expected to add fresh faces to his squad in the January transfer window.

The Rams currently sit 15th in the Sky Bet Championship table after winning five of their first 15 matches, and are finally starting to pick up after a stuttering start to the campaign.

Derby will obviously be strengthened with the arrival of Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney in January - they will be relying on his experience and quality to help ignite a push for the play-offs.

But aside from the former Everton man, you feel that Derby still need to bolster their squad - particularly in the attacking areas - if they are to push for the top six this term.

One player they have been linked with since the start of the season is Peterborough United forward Ivan Toney, with TEAMtalk crediting the Rams as well as Middlesbrough with an interest in the striker.

The 23-year-old has scored 12 goals in 19 games so far this season, playing an influential role in helping Posh cement their place in the Sky Bet League One play-off spots.

Peterborough will not want to let Toney leave in January amid inevitable interest from higher-profile clubs, and chairman Darragh MacAnthony has insisted that they won't let him leave for peanuts.

Speaking in a Q&A session on YouTube (27:01), he said that it would have take a club-record fee for Posh to sell Toney - a record that currently stands at £5.5m, when they sold Britt Assombalonga to Nottingham Forest in 2014.

A hefty amount of money, then, and before splashing the cash, Derby and Cocu need to sit back and think about what they would be spending their big bucks on.

Toney has not experienced Championship football as of yet, and before his move to Peterborough, he never had a prolific side to his game.

He impressed on loan at Scunthorpe United , but scored two goals in 20 games for Barnsley an six goals in 28 games for Wigan.

Nearly £6m would be a lot of money for Derby to spend on any player in January - it's likely to be a big chunk of what Phillip Cocu is given by the board to spend on players.

If a striker is on their radar, then that amount of money can get you a proven goalscorer at Championship level, who almost guarantees goals.

Then there's Derby style of play, too. Cocu likes to use Chris Martin up top as he is a strong, physical, powerful player who can hold the ball up really well.

Ivan Toney isn't that type of player, so they need to make sure they are spending it on a forward who suits Cocu's style.