Derby County confirmed the signing of David Ozoh on Wednesday but he isn’t the final loan signing Paul Warne will make this summer.
Ozoh arrived on a season-long loan from Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Described as ‘gifted’ by Patrick Vieira, the 19-year-old made his debut for Derby against Chesterfield, coming off the bench in the 4-0 loss.
The powerful midfielder became the Rams’ sixth signing of the summer and judging by Paul Warne’s latest comments, more will be arriving through the door.
Derby already saw a bid get accepted for goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom while Warne thinks three more faces will arrive at Pride Park before their trip to Blackburn on August 9th.
It is believed that the Rams will continue to use the loan market, and could perhaps look at a talented attacker from Leicester City.
Derby County should sign Kasey McAteer on loan from Leicester City
Despite adding Kayden Jackson and Jerry Yates to his attacking ranks, Warne is still eyeing up more firepower and he should target Leicester right winger Kasey McAteer on loan.
According to journalist Darren Witcoop, there is current interest in McAteer from Championship rivals Hull City and Cardiff City, but Derby should consider hijacking a move for him.
The 22-year-old scored seven goals in 26 appearances for the Foxes last term, although the bulk of his greatest moments came at the start of the season after Enzo Maresca awarded him his Championship debut.
McAteer scored in four of his first five Championship starts, including a brace against Rotherham, as the Englishman was a nightmare to defend against.
Opposition full-backs found it difficult to stop him cutting in on his devastating left foot, a trait that was once described as ‘wonderful’ by Johnnie Jackson during a loan spell at AFC Wimbledon.
Unfortunately, McAteer was denied more opportunities than he perhaps deserved last term due to multiple injuries while the emergence of loan star Abdul Fatawu didn’t help his cause.
Now, with Leicester in the Premier League, a loan spell to Derby could be the ideal destination.
Kasey McAteer would complement Derby’s attack perfectly
Derby have mainly used a 3-4-1-2 system in pre-season and whilst that makes wingers redundant, Warne has previously deployed a 4-3-3 formation.
In returning to the latter system, McAteer’s skill, speed and agility would add balance to the Rams attack with the explosive Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the opposite flank and one of James Collins, Yates or Jackson leading the line.
Warne currently has a lack of quality wide options, as while Corey Blackett-Taylor has potential and Kane Wilson is solid, they’re both unproven at Championship level, whereas McAteer has shown he can do it under Maresca.
Not only that, but the Foxes star is also impressive defensively, ranking inside the top 27% of second-tier wingers last term for tackles, the top 12% for clearances and the top 18% for aerials won.
Indeed, this proves that he’s capable of putting in the hard yards for his team out of possession, as Derby look to play on the counter-attack against tougher opponents.