Wayne Rooney has revealed that he has missed out on seven transfer targets, with James Garner one of those.

The midfielder is contracted to Manchester United, Rooney's former club, but he has joined the Rams bitter rivals Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season after impressing for the Reds in the previous campaign.

And, reporter Ryan Conway revealed that after speaking to Rooney today, the boss 'clearly' wanted to sign Garner, whilst he also went on to state that the boss confirmed he'd missed out on around seven targets.

Of course, that's because of the off-field issues that Derby have had to contend with this summer, with doubts about the ownership and takeovers, with no progress having been made up to now.

As a result, Rooney has been forced to bring in free transfers to help his depleted squad.

Despite all of that, the East Midlands outfit have enjoyed a decent start to the season, collecting five points from three games.

They take on Forest and Garner at Pride Park this weekend.

The verdict

In truth, it's no surprise to see that Rooney wanted Garner because he showed last season that he can be a top midfielder at this level and he would've brought a lot to the Derby team.

When you add in his United connections, it's a deal that Rooney would've explored. However, Derby just haven't been in a position to do these sort of deals which is a real blow for the boss and fans.

Rooney is understandably frustrated with what he's had to deal with this summer and he's not been able to bring in the players he wanted.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.