Oxford United and Portsmouth are monitoring Derby County utility man Joe Ward, according to reports.
Football League World has claimed Derby’s Championships rivals are monitoring the former Peterborough United man, who has struggled to nail down a first-team place this season.
The versatile attacker, who can also play in defence, has only featured seven times so far this term with his last start coming in the goalless draw at Burnley earlier this month.
But he did not feature in the 4-0 win over Portsmouth last Friday and was not even included in the matchday squad. With Ryan Nyambe making good progress on his return from injury and Kane Wilson currently in excellent form, Ward has been best-suited to a wing-back role in 3-5-2 formation.
But when Derby have opted for a 4-3-3 formation, Ward has often been overlooked with either Nyambe or Wilson preferred at right-back. Ward has played as a full-back before this season in a 2-1 defeat at Stoke, but was substituted at half-time of the Championship clash.
Ward still has another 18 months left to run on his contract at Pride Park having signed on a free transfer following his exit from Posh last summer and was handed a three-year deal by head coach Paul Warne.
His best game in a Derby shirt came in a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth last season when he scored both goals as the Rams went on to win promotion to the Championship. Derby are eager to bolster their own squad in the January window but will have to move players out in order to bring them in with the club currently at its 25-man squad limit.
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