Derby County will be hoping to push on under the guidance of manager Wayne Rooney when they make their return to Championship action next month.

The Rams were forced to settle for a draw in their recent showdown with Nottingham Forest as Brennan Johnson's late strike cancelled out Tom Lawrence's effort.

Having amassed a respectable total of six points from their opening six league fixtures, it will be intriguing to see whether Derby are able to add to their squad this week.

Whilst the Rams are currently unable to purchase players due to the nature of their transfer embargo, they can make moves for free-agents whilst loan deals are also allowed.

However, Rooney will only be able to draft in some fresh faces if he trims down his squad as he currently has a full quota of players at his disposal.

One of the individuals who has recently been linked with a move to Pride Park this summer is Christian Walton.

As covered by GIVEMESPORT, a report from Football Insider last week suggested that Derby were interested in a potential swoop for the Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper who is also believed to be on the radar of Forest and Norwich City.

Walton has yet to feature for the Seagulls in the Premier League this season due to the presence of Robert Sanchez who is currently the club's first-choice shot-stopper.

In a fresh update concerning Walton, it has now been revealed that Derby are set to miss out on sealing a deal for the keeper.

According to Football Insider, Ipswich Town are closing in on completing a permanent move for the keeper.

It is understood that Walton is set to undergo a medical at Portman Road today after the Tractor Boys reached an agreement with Brighton.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

With Ipswich seemingly set to win the race for Walton, the Rams will now need to draft up a list of alternative options to the keeper if they are indeed looking to bolster their options in this particular position.

However, considering that Derby are currently unable to splash the cash on players, they may find it difficult to get a deal over the line for a potential target.

For Walton's sake, it could be argued that a move to a team in League One may give him a better chance of featuring regularly at senior level as he may have struggled to overtake the likes of Kelle Roos and Ryan Allsop in the pecking order at Pride Park.

Providing that Rooney is able to make some signings this week, there is no reason why he cannot lead his side to a relative amount of success in the second-tier later this year.

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