Wayne Rooney has admitted he will not be able to keep hold of Ravel Morrison if he continues to flourish at Derby.
It comes after the 28-year-old kickstarted his career with the Rams and scoring a rocket on his debut.
The Championship outfit could only field an inexperienced side in the first round of the Carabao Cup as the club are under a transfer embargo.
Salford took a two-goal lead within 15 minutes and the fans at Pride Park could have been forgiven for wanting to leave then and there.
But with 20 minutes to go, Derby managed to claw it back to 2-2 through Isaac Hutchinson and Colin Kazim-Richards before going down 3-2 when the away side scored a penalty.
With time running out, Rooney's side were awarded a free-kick from 25 yards out which Morrison took.
The former Manchester United prodigy hit the wall with his effort but his follow-up was sublime, unleashing a powerful drive that left Salford keeper Tom King with no chance.
Derby went on to penalties to avoid an embarrassing defeat to their lower-league opponents.
And Rooney was full of praise for Morrison, quipping: “If I get the best out of him this season, it’ll be very difficult to keep hold of him.”
The Jamaica international signed a one-year contract with Derby this summer, who can only bring in players on free transfers, loans or short-term deals.
It his 13th clubs in his career, which started at United where Sir Alex Ferguson remarked to Rio Ferdinand that he was "the best player he had seen at that age".
Off the pitch trouble followed the midfielder and his travels have taken him all over the world with various clubs.
Morrison has played for Lazio in Italy, Ostersund in Sweden, Mexico's Atlas and, prior to his switch to Pride Park, ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands.
As for Rooney, he remains hellbent on keeping Derby above water in the Championship after finishing 21st last season.
With the current embargo, it has been a baptism of fire for the United legend in the managerial game but he has insisted he would not walk away.
"It's my job to bring some pride and dignity back to this club," he told BBC Radio Derby.
"We need help or we won't be able to compete. We need help from inside the club, from outside the club.
He added: "It would be easy for me to walk away because this is not ideal at all. But I've been in some tough moments in my career, on the pitch and off the pitch. This is another tough moment."
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