OPINION
Derby have been making pretty spectacular headlines today with the news that Wayne Rooney has agreed to join the club as a player-coach from January.
Rooney jetted in from the States for talks over a move that chairman Mel Morris was confident would get done.
“I’m confident this is something we will get sorted out,” Morris said on the BBC.
Rooney announced the move on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.
Delighted to announce I’ll be joining @dcfcofficial as player coach in January ? #WR32 pic.twitter.com/K5nVbhgopy
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) August 6, 2019
It’s a bold move and one that surely brings up the spectre of financial fair play again for Derby.
Morris was bullish about the deal and FFP saying, “We’ve maintained all along that we want to be compliant with FFP and I don’t see anything in this deal that would change that.”
However, the Sun had reported that Derby were going to match his £85,000-a-week salary to bring him to the Championship.
That’s a huge amount of money for a Championship side who had to sell their stadium to another company owned by Morris to report a profit last year – their first in 10 seasons according to the BBC.
Derby have already signed Arsenal defender Krystian Bielik this summer for a fee of around £7.4million, which could reportedly rise to nearer £10m with add-ons.
My understanding is that the Bielik deal could reach £10m following various instalments & add-ons. The sort of cash that could make a big difference for #AFC's pursuit of Kieran Tierney.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) July 31, 2019
Derby can’t sell their stadium again and even taking into account the compensation they got for Frank Lampard from Chelsea, it looks like they’re gambling on a return to the Premier League – which almost cost Aston Villa at the end of the 17/18 season.
It’s a dangerous game and one that Derby seem keen to play out in full.
Even if they can steer the ship within FFP waters, selling the stadium to then fund a move like this is something that won’t sit right with a lot of other clubs.
It’s surely a loophole that the EFL must look to close.