John Rooney is hanging fire on signing a new Macclesfield contract as he waits to see if Preston or Derby follow up their interest.

Rams boss Nigel Clough is keen to take another look at the 19-year-old striker, who impressed while spending a week with the club in February.

And he also shone during a recent trial with North End, scoring twice for them in a behind-closed-doors practice match against Wrexham.

Silkmen boss Gary Simpson is keen to keep Rooney at the Moss Rose, but accepts he may be looking to test himself at a higher level.

The teenager, who is the younger brother of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, joined Macc from Everton in 2008.

His contract expires over the summer, but because he has been offered a new one – and is under 24 – the Silkmen will be entitled to a transfer fee if he moves on.

Simpson said: "We’ve made John an offer to cover ourselves. He can turn that offer down, but it does mean we will be eligible for a transfer fee."

Rooney is the only remaining player from last season’s squad whose future has not yet been resolved.

Shaun Brisley, Nat Brown, Matt Lowe and Hamza Bencherif have all penned new deals with the Silkmen.

With striker Tyrone Barnett having arrived from non-league Hednesford – and youth-team graduates Adam Roberts and Michael Thomas following Vinny Mukendi in winning a pro contract – Simpson has 16 first-team players signed up for next season.

The Macc boss has released 10 of last season’s squad, with the most notable departures being keeper Jon Brain and player of the year Lee Bell, who both decided against signing new contracts.

Striker Matt Tipton and defender Sean Hessey have also been released, along with Paul Bolland, Kris Dennis, former Liverpool youngster Craig Lindfield, Stephen Reed, Kyle Wilson, Ben Wright and Francois Kompany.

Second-year scholars James Askey, Adam Jukes and Scott Beckett, who all made the bench for Macc during the closing weeks of the season, have left the club too.

Simpson is focusing on adding numbers to his squad, and hopes to announce another addition to his midfield tomorrow.

He said: "I still need to bring in three or four more players, but we’re not desperate. We’ve got a few targets in mind, and we are speaking to people. If we can do something, then we will.

"At the moment, there are 500 players being released by clubs around the country, so we will have a look at who is available.

"We’ve got the basis of the squad in place, so we’re in a good position to take things forward. We already had Paul Morgan for another year, and now Nat Brown has signed up as well. That means we’ve got a bit of experience to build around.

"We’re in the process of making another signing – a midfielder – and we’re looking to bring in more players."