Wayne Rooney makes surprise Derby County, Man United transfer revelation | OneFootball

The former Rams manager nearly brought the 22-year-old to Pride Park before he joined Rangers in January 2022.

Wayne Rooney has revealed that he came extraordinarily close to signing Amad Diallo from Manchester United on loan in January 2022 while he was the manager of Derby County, just before the winger made the switch to Scottish giants Rangers.

The ex-Rams boss spoke to MUTV about the transfer saga following the news that the former striker is set to play in this year's addition of Soccer Aid at Old Trafford in June.

Rooney has been out of work as a manager since December after he was sacked by Plymouth Argyle with the Pilgrims rooted to the bottom of the Championship. The 39-year-old was given his marching orders twice by two different clubs in 2024, having been fired by Birmingham City at the very start of the year.

He is yet to taste success in management, having spent time at four different clubs, but his time at Derby is still fondly remembered as the Rams fought against a 21-point deduction after they entered administration in September 2021.

Rooney makes Derby, Amad revelation

The 2021/22 campaign was incredibly tough for all those involved with the East Midlands outfit, as the club were rocked by former owner, Mel Morris, putting the club into administration.

Rooney and his players were forced to adapt, and with a fairly limited squad, he was able to take the fight back to those above them and Derby started to close the gap.

However, the January transfer window was a tough one as the Rams did not have the funds to be able to bring in any fresh faces.

But their former manager has now revealed that he came close to signing Manchester United star Amad on loan for the rest of the campaign, before he made the switch to Rangers instead.

Speaking to MUTV, Rooney said about the 22-year-old's performances this season and the saga that surrounded him in 2022: "I think he’s been great.

"I tried to sign him for Derby, when I was at Derby, on loan.

"I thought I had him, really. I think it was the next day, he went to Rangers out of the blue."

The England legend continued: "He has been fantastic, with the goals he’s scored, [his] creativity and work-rate. He’s been a breath of fresh air and, of course, we’d like a few more players to step up."

Amad could have been incredible at Derby

While he struggled at Rangers, Amad proved the season after at Sunderland that he had more than enough quality to do a job in the Championship, and he could have been a superb signing for Derby while Rooney was in charge.

The Rams were forced to play a mixture of youngsters and players entering the final years of their careers, and the Man United ace would have fit in perfectly to the dynamic at Pride Park.

Nevertheless, Rooney was forced to end the season with nearly the same squad that he started it with and the failure to bring Amad in will always lead to questions of what if, as Derby were relegated by just seven points.