Derby County boss Wayne Rooney has hit out at Crystal Palace and Wigan – accusing them of taking advantage of the Rams’ off-field struggles by landing their players cheaply in January.
Derby went into administration in September but new ownership is yet to be found with continued delays over a potential takeover leading to serious questions about the club’s future.
Those off-field issues always looked likely to cause issues for the East Midlands club in the January window and so it proved as though Rooney only has a threadbare squad this term, 18-year-old defender Dylan Williams (Chelsea), 19-year-old forward Luke Plange (Palace), and experienced midfielder Graeme Shinnie (Wigan) all left Pride Park.
Via BBC Sport, Rooney has issued his verdict on the departures in the winter window and accused the clubs involved of taking advantage of Derby’s struggles.
He said: “We’re in a difficult position and I feel other clubs have taken advantage of that.
“Whether that’s Wigan with Graeme Shinnie, Crystal Palace with Luke Plange, they’ve seen an opportunity.
“There’s a reason why they’ve come in and tried to do it now because they know they are getting the players a lot lower than they are actually valued at.”
It is yet unclear how much Chelsea paid for Williams but reports have suggested that Palace paid just £1 million for Plange, who had begun to emerge as a regular fixture in Rooney’s senior side, while Shinnie left for just £30,000.
The Verdict
You can certainly see why Rooney is frustrated after seeing some of the club’s bright young players and Shinnie, who had been key through the first half of the season, depart for what he believes is less than their value.
However, it’s important to remember that Derby did themselves
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