Derby County have been handed a huge boost in their bid to bring new signings to Pride Park this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a claim made by John Percy, with The Telegraph journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that the EFL are now allowing Wayne Rooney to make five additions to his Derby squad in the summer transfer window.

Percy continues by stating that, with the club still operating under a transfer embargo, these signings must currently be free agents, with the club only being able to offer each potential signing a 12-month contract, or, if the target is available on a loan deal, the maximum length of their temporary stay at Pride Park is six months.

In his tweet, the journalist stated: "Wayne Rooney is now able to sign up to 5 players, but is still restricted to free agents on 12-month contracts or 6-month loans under the EFL's transfer embargo."

Fans surely buzzing

While Derby are by no means out of the woods yet regarding their off-field issues, the fact that Rooney has been allowed to make a number of additions to his squad this summer is certainly a step in the right direction for the club, and one that is sure to have left fans of the Rams buzzing.

Indeed, with Derby currently only having 14 contracted players in their first-team squad, should the EFL have not allowed the 35-year-old to bring in any additions this summer, the Rams would have found it extremely difficult to field a side of decent enough quality to play in the Championship next season.

However, with the potential arrival of five new signings, this would take Derby's squad size to 19, enough to fill a starting XI and seven substitute players on the bench.

As such, the fact that Rooney will, at the very least, be able to submit a squad to play in the Championship next season is undeniably a positive step for the Rams, with the club's future having appeared incredibly uncertain just a matter of days ago.

Having said that, the former Manchester United man will nevertheless be hoping that the EFL will allow him to bring in further additions to his side before the transfer window slams shut at the end of August, in order to provide the 35-year-old with the best possible chance of beating the drop with the Rams next season.

In other news: Imagine him & Lawrence: Rooney must sanction Derby swoop for "special" £3.7k-p/w beast