According to a reliable football journalist, Derby County will have money to spend in the summer transfer window.

Alan Nixon is reporting that Derby are ready to back Gary Rowett in the summer to allow him to bring in some new players.

If the Rams miss out on promotion, then Rowett will be given a sizeable war chest with which he can build a squad capable of winning promotion in May 2019 instead.

But this report is directly contrary to what Derby chairman Mel Morris recently said about their transfer strategy should they stay in the Championship.

The Derby Telegraph reported that Morris was concerned about their constant spending and their hefty wage bill, hinting that not much spending would take place in the summer.

He said: "It is something we need to get under control - we have to get the cost base under control."

But, according to this report by Nixon, Derby have now performed a u-turn with their summer spending intentions and will back Rowett with some spending money.

Furthermore, they are set to bring in Darren Robinson as a chief recruiter to help bring in better players.

Robinson previously worked with Rowett at Birmingham and now they are set to reunite at Pride Park.

The Verdict

Derby currently sit outside the play-off zone but have a game in hand (over automatic promotion chasing Cardiff City) to move back above Millwall. Their goal will be promotion and the play-offs can be a lottery so anything is possible. But if they go up, they will need to spend big to stay in the Premier League and if they stay down, they do need to shake their squad up as they have under-performed in the second half of the season.

Derby fans - what do you make of Nixon's report? Let us know below...