Head coach Wayne Rooney has said that "the pride" of Derby County is being ripped out after another of the club's youngsters was sold on Tuesday.
While Rooney was successful in keeping many of his first-team players at Pride Park in January, prospect Dylan Williams signed for Chelsea and Luke Plange penned a deal with Crystal Palace before being loaned back to the Rams.
On Tuesday, another academy player - Omari Kellyman - left for Aston Villa, and Rooney has not shied away from voicing his unhappiness with how the 16-year-old has moved elsewhere, a consequence of the East Midlands outfit being in administration.
Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Rooney said: "Nine players we lost during the January window and we lost another today. A young lad from Derby, a 16-year-old who didn't want to leave the club. He didn't want to leave and I didn't want him to leave the club.
"I get a text message today saying he has been sold. From that point of view, the pride, the hope, the soul of this club is getting taken away from us and it's not right."
Rooney also acknowledged that he hopes the deal, which is said to have raised in the region of £600,000, will go some way to helping lift the transfer embargo currently placed upon the club.
Darren Plant
