There are just two months to go before the January transfer window opens for business and Derby County are already planning for what could happen when the market opens for business.
Paul Warne has admitted that recruitment meetings are taking place on a regular basis as the club attempts to build on what has been a solid start to life in the Championship.
After failing to land a striker on deadline day, there is potential for Derby to add a forward to the ranks to help them flourish in the second half of the season. But there will have to be departures to make room given Derby are at their 25-man squad limit.
Here DerbyshireLive takes a look at what could happen when the window opens as Warne considers adjustments in what is a notoriously tricky window.
Striker search
Derby’s failure to land a striker on deadline day wasn’t through the want of trying but a combination of ridiculous prices and players staying put, ended the search for a number nine.
That left Jerry Yates carrying the torch as the club’s main striker on a season-long loan from Swansea, supported by academy graduate Dajaune Brown, last season’s top scorer James Collins and Conor Washington.
Judging by the fans we asked in our recent fans’ survey, which asked what the club needs to address in January, the response was overwhelming. More than 90 per cent who took part said a striker was a priority and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment.
While Yates has recent Championship experience, Brown is still mastering his craft although his goal against Hull City will have done him the power of good. Collins has been used from the bench here and there and Washington has yet to kick a ball this season.
If we are being brutally honest, it is not a Championship-level strikeforce particularly if you compare it with other teams in the division. The problem with trying to sign a forward in January is that prices are often inflated because it is the middle of the season and clubs are perhaps exploited financially whether you are at the the top of the table or down at the bottom.
Warne has already made it clear what he wants which is a mobile target man and it would not be a surprise if they test the waters again for Ali Al-Hamadi at Ipswich, but they would not be the only club in the queue if he is made available. But even for that to happen players will have to leave.
Departures
Warne said he expected departures in the January window, and that would have to happen if he wants to add to the squad. He has reached the full 25-man limit, so inevitably, exits are a necessity. A host of players in the last year of their contracts have struggled for minutes this season, making them the most likely candidates to source new clubs.
Washington and Collins could be two candidates, particularly if Derby wants to revamp its forward line. They are both out of contract, and they surely would have no shortage of takers in League One. Dajaune Brown could have been a contender to go out on loan and he is another player who would have plenty of options given there were 10 clubs in League One and League Two happy to offer him a loan move.
MK Dons were keeping a close interest on Brown’s movements on deadline day but that all hinged on whether the club added a striker which failed to materialise so he stayed put.
Tom Barkhuizen is also still waiting to return to the starting XI, a matter complicated by Corey Blackett-Taylor’s emergence over recent weeks. If that situation remains the same, that could also open up avenues.
Contract situations
Out of the players who are free to leave Derby next summer there are two players who might well be contenders for a new deal.
Curtis Nelson’s start to the season has been hugely impressive and would surely warrant a new contract given he has established an excellent partnership with Eiran Cashin that was a fundamental reason as to why they were promoted last term.
It’s been so good that Nat Phillips has yet to break into the first team with the on-loan Liverpool defender currently biding his time. Nelson has scored twice from set-pieces this season and remains a potent force in both boxes.
The other player who may well pose Derby a question when it comes to a new contract is Kane Wilson who has stepped up in the absence of Ryan Nyambe who is out for the forseeable future with a posterior ligament injury.
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