Derby County are set to allow goalkeeper David Marshall to leave the club during the January transfer window as they aim to cut their wage bill, according to The Sun.

Marshall has endured a difficult first half of the season with the Rams with Wayne Rooney having made it clear that the Scotland international is now Derby's third choice goalkeeper.

That comes with the Rams having brought in Ryan Allsop on a free transfer during the summer transfer window to provide competition for places with current first-choice stopper Kelle Roos.

Both of those keepers have been handed chances to impress by Rooney so far this term in the Championship.

When Roos was suspended following his red card in Derby's defeat at Sheffield United, Rooney elected to bring in Allsop into the side ahead of Marshall to really underline the Scotland international's position in the squad, with the 36-year-old yet to make an appearance this season.

According to the latest report from The Sun, Derby are now planning to offload Marshall during the January transfer window.  It is believed that the Rams are wanting to free up his £9,000-a-week wages to ease some of the financial pressure on the club at the moment.

It is hoped by the Rams that they will be able to sign a replacement third choice goalkeeper in the winter window, despite their current off-field situation.

The Verdict

This seems like the best option for all concerned in January. It has been clear for some time now that Marshall is no longer in favour at Derby and they can not afford as a club at the moment to have a player on their books that is not going to be an essential part of their squad for the rest of the campaign.

There is no doubting Marshall's experience or quality and it would be expected that someone will want to snap him up if the Rams are making him available to sign.

The keeper will be needing to go out and play games again and therefore he is likely to be willing to moving to clubs that might be interested.

It is a shame that Marshall's time of Derby is going to end in this way because he has been a good performer for them at times.

However, he lost the faith of Rooney and it is now time for him to be moved on so both himself and the Rams can have a fresh start.