Skipper Hourihane heads Derby player releases

Derby County captain Conor Hourihane is to leave Pride Park after leading the side to promotion back to the Championship.

The 33-year-old Republic of Ireland international scored six goals in 47 appearances as Derby finished second behind Portsmouth in League One.

Hourihane is reportedly a target of one of his former clubs, Barnsley, in a player-coach role, having skippered them to a promotion and EFL Trophy double in 2016.

Fellow midfielder Korey Smith, strikers Dwight Gayle and Martyn Waghorn, and goalkeepers Scott Loach and Joe Wildsmith will also leave Derby this summer.

Waghorn scored seven goals after being picked up as a free agent last summer for a second spell with Derby following his release by Coventry City, and Gayle netted three times in six appearances, having been released by Stoke City in February.

Talks are ongoing with top scorer James Collins - who contributed 14 league goals this season - and Louie Sibley about new deals.

Meanwhile, forward Tom Barkhuizen and defender Craig Forsyth have taken up clauses in their contracts to allow them to stay for a further 12 months, with the club activating a similar extension for midfielder Liam Thompson.