Derby County are going to face a huge summer with the Rams needing to offer manager Wayne Rooney some backing in the transfer market for him to take the club forwards.

There have been reports that have emerged in recent days suggesting that Rooney has been left unhappy with the Rams’ situation after the takeover involving Sheikh Khaled was eventually called off. It is believed that the Derby boss was thinking he would be working under new ownership when he took the job on a permanent basis. While the lack of takeover limited funds in January.

Rooney was still able to make a number of loan additions to his squad in the winter window, but he was unable to secure a move for one of his main targets. That is according to French journalist Loic Tanzi, who has reported that the Rams made a move for Reims midfielder Marshall Munetsi with an offer made that would have seen him arrive on loan with an option to make it permanent.

Since that failed January switch to Derby, Munesti has come into the Reims side and been delivering a string of impressive performances. The midfielder has come back into the starting line-up on a regular basis and has been a strong performer in recent draws with Lens and Saint Etienne and starred in a recent 1-0 win away against Dijon (Sofascore).

Overall, the midfielder has been averaging 2.4 interceptions, 1.3 tackles and 2.5 clearances per game, as well as winning 4.4 duels a match in his 21 Ligue 1 appearances (Sofascore). That demonstrates he offers real defensive solidity to the midfield and he also an effective distributor with an 82% passing accuracy so far this campaign.

Those are qualities that Derby have been lacking in recent matches in the middle of the park, and in the absence of Krystian Bielik they have not really got a tough-tackling midfielder who is also able to keep the ball ticking over as well. They do have Everton loanee Beni Baningime, but he has not been able to convince Rooney he should be starting.

Given their January interest, it would be unlikely that Munesti is not still on their radar heading into the summer. However, his recent resurgence and form for Reims will have potential alerted other sides and also given the French club second thoughts about allowing him to leave.

However, Derby should show Rooney that despite the takeover situation, they are still prepared to back him with signings he would be wanting to make. Making a renewed move for Munesti could go a long way to reaffirming the belief in their manager and also showing that they are serious about improving for next season.