Wayne Rooney's Derby County defender Scott Malone looks set to leave Pride Park this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Derbyshire Live, who claim that Malone is due to leave the Rams upon the expiry of his contract at the end of this season, along with Scott Carson and Florian Jozefzoon.

The £1.8 million-rated left-back, who Frank Lampard signed from Huddersfield Town back in the summer of 2018, has spent the past season on loan at fellow Championship side Millwall and does not look likely to make a return to Pride Park, with the Lions thought to be considering a move for the defender if and when he becomes a free agent.

Malone must go

Having made a total of just 45 Championship appearances for Derby throughout his three years at the club, over which the left-back scored three goals and provided two assists, it would be fair to say that Malone has not exactly made a drastic impression within the Rams side since his arrival.

Indeed, over his 18 second-tier fixtures for the club last season, the left-back gave away possession of the ball an average of 12.7 times per game, in addition to making one error that led directly to a goal and conceding one penalty, culminating in a highly disappointing SofaScore average match rating of 6.55.

As such, there should be absolutely no hesitation on the part of Wayne Rooney when considering the defender's future at the club this summer, particularly as the 30-year-old is reported to earn a whopping £20,000-per-week.

Once the Rams are free of Malone's wage commitments, the 35-year-old manager can put this money towards the improvement of his squad this summer, something that, considering how narrow Derby's escape from dropping down to League One was this season, it appears is desperately needed at the club.

In other news: Forget Waghorn: Derby County "leader" who won 9 duels saved Rooney's season - opinion