2 Derby County players who may be disappointed not to have left in the January transfer window | OneFootball

Derby County are in a healthy position to make a push to maintain their place in the playoffs this season but will certainly have one eye on automatic promotion.

While the chances are slim of a top two finish, their unbeaten record suggests there is more from this Derby side to come as League One head into its second half.

It was a relatively quiet January for the Rams, who added just three players to their ranks in Tony Springett from Norwich City, Luke McGee from Forest Green Rovers and Harvey White from Tottenham Hotspur all on loan.

Budget constraints haven’t helped their situation but they are certainly looking stronger after January than when they headed into it.

However, despite the small squad, there could be some players are disappointed about not securing a move away from Pride Park in the winter window.

Whilst we wait to see if the Rams can maintain their push for promotion from into the Championship, we take a look at two Derby players who may be disappointed not to have secured a move away during January.

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Derby County have won the top-flight title on two occasions

Liam Thompson

Thompson broke into the first team last season and became a key player in the Championship for the Rams after a series of tenacious and composed performances.

However, he has seemingly struggled to adapt to a more physical League One and has therefore struggled for regular game time this season.

The 20-year-old has started just one game in the league this season and has made a further 10 appearances from the bench which is disappointing compared to his 19 starts last season.

To make matters more difficult for Thompson, the club loaning in Harvey White will only increase competition in the middle of the park.

A loan move for Thompson would have been beneficial as he needs regular game time in order to develop. In normal circumstances, Thompson would have been allowed to leave temporarily in order to develop but because of limited depth, will have to try and force his way into Paul Warne’s plans.

Jake Rooney

Rooney has been an astute signing for the Rams and has shown a level of composure in games way beyond his young years.

However, similar to Thompson, Rooney would have benefitted from being allowed to develop on loan elsewhere. Regular game time is the next step for Rooney considering the promising cameo’s he’s had.

But now Korey Smith has established himself at right back, and with Craig Forsyth, Curtis Davies and Eiran Cashin ahead of him in the pecking order in defence, he will once again find game time hard to come by in the second half of the season.