, ‘Heavily linked’ – Rooney on Tom Lawrence’s Derby County future amid links to West Brom + more

‘Heavily linked’ – Rooney on Tom Lawrence’s Derby County future amid links to West Brom + more

Derby County boss Wayne Rooney remains hopeful that Tom Lawrence will stay at the club beyond this season.

Derby County skipper Lawrence sees his contract expire in the summer. The Welshman is one of a number of players set to become free agents at the end of this season but Rooney hopes that Lawrence, and a few others, will stay.

The Rams remain in administration though. Chris Kirchner’s proposed takeover seems to be moving along at a steady pace but player contract renewals, and potential new signings, can’t be made until the club has a new owner in place.

That leaves Lawrence’s future up in the air.

But speaking out on Lawrence’s situation, Rooney said (via Mirror):

“He (Lawrence) wants to be here but as we have said there are other clubs who are in for him and we have had open conversations about it. He wants to be here but obviously things have to be right and where we are now I can’t offer him anything.”

Lawrence has been linked with a number of clubs this season. Back in the January, the likes of Bournemouth and QPR were being linked with a move for the 28-year-old, who’s scored 11 goals and assisted five in the Championship this season.

And earlier this month, reports emerged linking Norwich City, Brighton and West Brom with the attacking midfielder.

“I am really hopeful, and hoping he will be here next season along with a couple of the other lads who are getting heavily linked with other clubs,” Rooney continued.

“I think the great thing speaking to the players and having these open conversations with them, I can see how honest they are all being over it. There is a real maturity over how they are handling the situation, which I think is a credit to them.

“I know they want to be here, what we can’t afford to do is leave this club in the position it has been in. The players understand that. We need to make sure we do the right things to get the best squad we can get with the budget we are allowed.”

Between a rock and a hard place…

Derby County’s situation dictates the future of a lot of their players. The club still has several weeks before contracts expire at the end of June and so there’s time for Kirchner’s takeover to go through, and the club to renew the stays of players like Lawrence.

But the club’s takeover situation is a complex one. It’d be unsurprising if Kirchner’s takeover doesn’t go through until later in the summer and by which point, the club’s out of contract players would’ve surely found a new employer.

It’ a difficult situation for the Rams to be in, but if they can keep Lawrence going into League One then it would be a real coup for Rooney’s side.

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