After narrowly avoiding relegation to League One last season, Derby County will be looking to push forward under the guidance of manager Wayne Rooney during the upcoming campaign.

However, with the Rams still facing the prospect of being demoted to the third-tier due to the fact that they could be deducted points as part of the disciplinary process regarding their breach of Financial Fair Play rules, the club's immediate future is currently uncertain.

Whilst Rooney has decided to release a number of Derby players in recent weeks, he has yet to bolster his squad.

Although the Rams cannot purchase players due to the nature of their transfer embargo, they will be able to seek solace in the form of the free-agent market.

One of the players who is set to become available on a free transfer next month is Luton Town midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe.

Despite being offered a new contract by the Hatters, the midfielder has decided to call time on his stint at Kenilworth Road and is currently attracting a great deal of interest from the Rams.

According to the Daily Mail, Derby are reportedly keeping tabs on Tunnicliffe ahead of a potential swoop.

The 28-year-old, who is also attracting interest from Huddersfield Town, Barnsley and Hull City, was used on a sporadic basis by Luton last season.

A failure to tie down a place in the Hatters' starting eleven resulted in Tunnicliffe's game-time being limited to just 24 appearances in the second-tier.

Whilst Derby will need to add to their squad between now and August, they are not exactly short of options in central-midfield as they can currently call upon the services of Jason Knight, Graeme Shinnie, Max Bird and Krystian Bielik who is on the road to recovery after suffering a serious knee injury in February.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Although it would be naïve to suggest that Tunnicliffe doesn't possess the qualities needed to compete at this level, his performances during the previous campaign for Luton left a lot to be desired.

As a result of a lack of consistency, the midfielder was only able to average a WhoScored match rating of 6.38 in the second-tier which was bettered by the likes of Bird, Shinnie and Knight.

Taking this into consideration, it could be argued that Derby ought to steer clear of signing Tunnicliffe this summer as he may not necessarily be an upgrade on their existing options.

By switching their focus to securing the services of players who know exactly what it takes to thrive in this division, the Rams could potentially make a positive start to the 2021/22 season.

Read More - Champions League 2021/22: Fixtures, Draw, Results, Odds, Scores And Everything You Need To Know