Derby County manager Wayne Rooney believes it would have been better in a financial sense for the club to hold on to Luke Plange beyond the end of the summer, speaking candidly to Derbyshire Live.

The 19-year-old only arrived at Pride Park from Arsenal last year - and was potentially expected to play in the club's Under-23s team - but the Rams' financial situation, inability to get many players through the door due to their transfer embargo and his progress meant he was given the chance to shine in the first team.

This is an opportunity he has taken with both hands, recording three goals in eight Championship appearances so far this season as he starts to establish himself as a starter at Pride Park.

They won't be able to retain him for the long term though, with Premier League side Crystal Palace agreeing a £1m fee with the East Midlands side's administrators on deadline day for the teenager to join the Eagles, though they did allow Plange to remain at Pride Park for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign.

This will be a huge source of disappointment for Derby fans who would have been keen to keep the forward, though their current financial situation with the club still in the depths of administration have made it harder to retain their assets.

Rooney is all too aware of the danger the second-tier side are in at this stage with a takeover seemingly not getting closer - and appreciates why the striker needed to be sold - but did admit his regret that they weren't able to fend off this approach from Patrick Vieira's men.

On this subject, the 36-year-old said: "It is a difficult one.

"From my point of view do you do it too early because I feel he could develop a lot more under me and with this club, but on the other hand do the club need that money and we still have the player. So it was a very tough one.

"That's the position, unfortunately, we are in as a club at this minute.

"Ideally we would like to have kept him and worked with him again next season and see him develop, and I think for the club as a whole it would have been better financially if that was the case."

The Verdict:

In their current predicament, as Rooney will know, they needed to take this money in a bid to secure their survival as a club for longer - and in the end - that could end up being the difference between them remaining alive and the unthinkable.

This is why a move may be painful now - but could be looked back on in years to come as a masterstroke if they are under a new owners with a brighter future ahead of them - something that's certainly possible if they can get a takeover signed and sealed.

And one good thing about their window is the fact they were able to minimise the number of promising young players they were forced into selling, though they will be gutted to lose Plange and Dylan Williams, with the latter going to Chelsea.

They do have Lee Buchanan as another young, exciting option which will cushion the blow of seeing promising full-back make the move to Stamford Bridge - and if they can retain the likes of Max Bird, Louie Sibley and Jason Knight beyond the end of the 2021/22 campaign, then they could be on the rise in years to come.

However, whether they remain in the second tier or not could be crucial in determining whether the trio remain at Pride Park, so Rooney will be desperate to see his team clinch survival against all odds and they have certainly given themselves a chance with their recent results.