Derby County have triggered an extension in Nathan Byrne's contract that means he won't be able to leave on a free transfer in the summer.

The right-back has been a consistent performer for the Rams since he arrived at the club but it had been thought that his time at Pride Park was coming to an end.

That's because Byrne's contract was expiring, and it had been reported that Stoke, Millwall and Preston were all ready to give the 29-year-old the chance to return to the Championship immediately.

However, whilst a move can't be totally ruled out, those Championship clubs won't be able to pick Byrne up on a free, as the Sun have revealed that Derby have taken up the option to extend Byrne's deal by another 12 months.

With Chris Kirchner's takeover set to be completed by Tuesday, Wayne Rooney is making his plans for next season and he will have seen Byrne as an important player in the team considering how regularly he has used him since he was appointed.

The verdict

This is a no-brainer from Derby's perspective as Byrne has been a consistent performer for the Rams and will be key to them in League One if he stays.

Now, you would expect him to stay and that will be a real boost for Rooney who is going to want to make plenty of changes to his squad in the coming weeks, once the takeover goes through.

From Byrne's perspective, he seems very happy at Derby and he will now be focused on trying to help the team to promotion next season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.