Derby County's ongoing takeover saga took another twist yesterday as it was announced that the club had been purchased by Spanish businessman Erik Alonso.

After entering talks with Mel Morris last month about buying the Rams, the 29-year-old has now sealed a deal and is now waiting to be see whether he will pass the EFL's Owners and Directors Test.

Derby will now be focused on matters on the pitch following this key development as they face the tricky task of preventing a rampant Norwich City side from clinching victory at Pride Park on Saturday.

Whilst the Rams have only managed to win one of their last nine games, the Canaries are currently cruising towards automatic promotion in the Championship.

Yet despite Derby's worrying drop-off in performance levels in recent weeks, manager Wayne Rooney has been backed by the club's new owner to lead the club into a new dawn.

As reported by The Sun, Rooney's presence was a defining factor behind the reason why Alonso opted to purchase the club as the reputation gained from his playing days could attract new signings in the upcoming transfer window.

The 35-year-old called time on a career which saw him win 16 major honours with Manchester United and net a record-total of 53 goals for England at international level earlier this year.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

This is unquestionably good news for Derby who are in need of some stability following a six-year period where they have hired and subsequently fired six managers.

After initially making a positive start to life in charge of the Rams by winning five of his first seven games in permanent charge of the club, Rooney's progress has been halted in recent months.

Given that his side are only eight points clear of the bottom-three in the Championship despite playing four more games than strugglers Rotherham United, the Derby boss knows that he is in need of a positive result in order to alleviate fears of relegation.

Providing that Rooney can guide Derby to safety next month, it will be intriguing to see whether he is able to get his recruitment spot-on during the upcoming transfer window with fresh investment available.