Wayne Rooney: Derby County boss says Rams will not accept 'ridiculous bids' for players

Wayne Rooney missed the 2-2 draw at Reading on 3 January because of cold-like symptoms, despite testing negative for Covid

Derby County boss Wayne Rooney says they will not accept "ridiculous bids" for any of their players, despite the club remaining in administration.

A preferred bidder has not yet been publicly named by Quantuma, the administrators running the club.

Despite that, offers for members of Rooney's squad have been dismissed.

"It's the equivalent of me walking into a Ferrari garage with £10,000 in my pocket. You'd get turned away," Rooney told BBC Radio Derby.

"If there are going to be bids, they have to meet the value of the players and it has to be whether I'm happy for the player to leave the club or not."

Rooney is hoping to bring in a new player soon - but can only do so on the basis of a loan or free transfer, as English Football League restrictions remain in place.

And he is also looking to extend the short-term contracts of former England defender Phil Jagielka and forward Sam Baldock, which are due to expire next week.

"I've spoken to them (Quantuma). Hopefully it (the preferred bidder) will get announced soon but the positive thing for me is the questions I've asked about what I can do with my squad have been answered, so I now have to get on with my work," the former England, Everton and Manchester United forward said.

"There have been bids for players, I know that, but they have been turned away because they were absolutely ridiculous bids."

Despite having 21 points deducted, which put Derby at the bottom of the Championship table, three wins and a draw in their past four games have put them only three points behind next-to-bottom Barnsley.

Saturday, though, provides a break from the league as the Rams travel to Coventry City in the FA Cup third round.