Derby County may be preparing Barnsley action - late transfer decision has not worked | OneFootball

Jake Rooney has only played 45 minutes for the Tykes in League One so far this season

Derby County must surely look to consider recalling Jake Rooney from his loan spell at Barnsley in January, who finds himself out of contract with the Rams next summer.

With the young centre-back in need of regular minutes after recovering from his second serious knee injury, the decision to send him to the Tykes - managed by ex-Ram Conor Hourihane - appeared a perfect move at the time.

However, three months into the campaign, it has become increasingly apparent that the Oakwell arrangement may not be delivering what was originally anticipated.

So far, Rooney has made just a single League One appearance - playing 45 minutes against Doncaster Rovers at left-back before being hooked.

John Eustace's "really important" claim on Jake Rooney joining Barnsley hasn't rung true

Before leaving for South Yorkshire, it's fair to say Rooney was behind every single one of Derby's centre-backs in terms of selection, and his chances of ever getting back in are even slimmer now.

With Sondre Langås back in action for the Rams, the former Burnley academy prospect originally found himself below Matt Clarke, Dion Sanderson and Danny Batth in the pecking order.

This is what led to manager John Eustace's initial comments about the loan move.

"It is just for game time," Eustace told The Derby Telegraph regarding Rooney's switch to Barnsley, "Jake has done great over pre-season and in the cup games as well.

"Jake wants to play week in, week out, and I think for his development it's really important that he goes and does that.

"He's gone to a great club now in Barnsley and a good coach, so I'm sure he'll do very well there," Eustace concluded.

This suggests Eustace had seen enough in pre-season to believe that a temporary move down the divisions would be mutually beneficial for all involved.

Beyond that single start in the league, Rooney's involvement at the Tykes has been confined almost entirely to the EFL Trophy, a competition that obviously doesn’t provide the exposure he needs at this point of his career.

Given that one Barnsley fan took to social media to claim Rooney was one of the worst defenders he'd ever seen play for the club, it doesn't seem like he's impressed when he has played. Although it's unfair to properly judge a player who's rarely played.

For that central defender position at Barnsley, Jack Shephard, Marc Roberts and Josh Earl have all been preferred by Hourihane instead - so just like at Derby, Rooney finds himself on the fringe of a squad, but a league below.

It remains to be seen what Eustace thinks of Rooney's situation now, but the club will probably need to make a decision soon.

Derby County potentially face difficult decision regarding Jake Rooney

Seeing as Rooney’s practically not played at all in the third-tier, Derby now face a potentially uncomfortable decision in the coming weeks and months.

Allowing Rooney to remain at Barnsley with minimal game time achieves little beyond occupying a squad slot that even Hourihane might think could be better used on another player.

On the other hand, recalling him would most likely mean another temporary spell elsewhere is on the cards - at a potentially lower level.

As already mentioned, the Rams are stacked themselves when it comes to centre-backs, so regular minutes in the Championship after hardly playing in League One has got to be out of the question.

Rooney’s last meaningful involvement for Eustace came in those cup games the latter alluded to in the earlier quotes, against West Bromwich Albion and Burnley in the EFL Cup.

Also, with the added factor of his contract running out next summer, time may be ticking for Rooney to earn himself an extension.

Ultimately, the regular game time that everyone thought he'd be getting at Barnsley isn't happening, and Derby aren't in need of him coming back this early to play Championship football.