Derby County will be playing Championship football for an 11th consecutive season in August after suffering play-off heartbreak against Fulham last week.

It was a mixed campaign for Gary Rowett's men who would've targeted a top six finish but at one stage it looked as though they could challenge for an automatic promotion spot.

The former Brimingham boss has been very clear in identifying the weaknesses in the Rams squad, having revealed he felt the squad were too old to cope with the demands of the division at times.

Therefore, recruitment is sure to focus on bringing in younger, hungry players this summer and whilst they won't have big money to spend, the likely departure of Matej Vydra may fund some new arrivals.

Here we look at four players who they need to sign as soon as possible...

Millwall were on of the success stories of the Championship this season and a key reason to that was their defence.

Cooper was integral to that, dominating strikers with his strength and aerial ability.

At 23-years old, he has a lot of time to improve and could become a quality player at this level.

Derby need a more dynamic midfielder and Freeman could be the answer.

Capable of running at the opposition from deep and picking a pass, Freeman would bring something else to the Rams side and undoubtedly improve them in the final third.

Maddison has been made available for transfer at Peterbrough after several good years in League One and is ready for the second tier now.

He is another that would add real creativity and excitement to the team in an attacking sense and could be a key man at Pride Park for years.

Hugill made a big-money move to West Ham in January but it hasn't worked out at all, with the former Preston man struggling to get game time.

That's unlikely to change so a departure seems inevitable.

The target man has proven himself in the Championship and would be a big signing for Derby.