Derby County: Paul Warne planning talks over potential January exit | OneFootball

Derby County boss Paul Warne has revealed that Jake Rooney could be loaned out in the January window.

Derby County boss Paul Warne has admitted he will hold talks with Jake Rooney about whether the player thinks a loan move in January would be best for his career.

The 21-year-old joined the Rams in 2022, and he had managed to get himself in and around the first-team despite his young age.

However, a serious knee injury ended Rooney’s campaign in September last year, and he suffered another issue with his knee this summer after making his return.

Pleasingly, he has been back out on the pitch recently, with the defender featuring for Derby’s U21 side as he looks to get some game time, but he hasn't been near the first-team, who are currently 15th in the Championship.

Paul Warne on Jake Rooney’s future at Derby County

However, that’s not the first-team football that the player will be craving, although it’s going to be difficult for Rooney to break into Warne’s XI due to the number of players ahead of him at the moment.

And, speaking to Derbyshire Live, the boss revealed that he will hold talks with Rooney prior to the January window as they look to decide on what his next step should be.

“I need to have a conversation with Jake and every option is open to him to discuss with me. We will talk to him collectively with his representative and see what is best. I feel for him because he got back from his first injury in good nick, but as it stands now, he is obviously a long way down the pecking order.

“What I don't want for him is to stagnate and go backwards in the next three or four months. If there is a chance for him to get back into the first team and play then I would presume would be his choice.

“But if, realistically, that is difficult and not as quick as he would like then you have to investigate loans. We will have a chat but it's constant monitoring. What you think today and what you think next week are two different things.

“One day he might feel a loan move is best for minutes and I respect that. But we could have two or three injuries, and he might then think things are a bit more rosy. We are going to sit down and have a proper chat.”

Jake Rooney needs to be playing competitive football

As Warne says, he ultimately needs to have a chat with Rooney, and there’s no doubt that they will decide what’s best for the defender.

But, from the outside, it looks as though he would really benefit from a loan move.

Rooney has had terrible luck on the injury front in the past year or so, so it’s great to see that he is back out on the pitch and playing for the U21s.

That’s not the same though, and with Rooney unlikely to get minutes at Derby, a loan would allow him to show what he can do.

There’s no rush from Derby’s perspective with Rooney, as he is still a very young player, and he has plenty of room to develop, but he is only going to do that by playing week in, week out.

You would imagine there would be plenty of suitors in the Football League, so it’s certainly one to monitor when the window does open in the New Year.