Derby County are far from done with their transfer business and more players could arrive ahead of Friday’s clash against Blackburn Rovers.
Derby are edging closer to kicking off their Championship season with a trip to Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.
Although the Rams have signed six new players, worries still linger on whether Paul Warne’s squad are ready for the challenge.
Pre-season has been unkind to Warne’s side, with Derby losing three of their four matches and conceding 12 goals, although they did close out their preparations with a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid.
With a lack of cutting edge in attack, the Rams are still keen to bolster their forward line with quality as while Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson have arrived as attacking options, both have never been clinical in front of goal.
Remarkably, scoring goals isn’t the major concern heading into the Championship season as Derby still need to sign a first-choice goalkeeper after releasing Joe Wildsmith.
Derby have agreed to a £1.4 million deal to sign Swedish shot-stopper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from Djurgardens but a transfer won’t be complete till after their Europa Conference League matches, leaving Warne short in the goalkeeper department.
So, with that said, here’s how a dream Derby County XI could look vs Blackburn Rovers.
Derby County’s dream starting XI vs Blackburn
The dream scenario for Warne would be starting Zetterstrom against Blackburn but as he’s being kept by the Swedish club, supporters may have to wait for the 26-year-old to join, leaving Josh Vickers as his only option.
Vickers takes his place in goal against Rovers and he’ll be joined by a back three of Curtis Nelson, Sonny Bradley and Eiran Cashin. Warne is light on defensive options following the injury to Jake Rooney, so it’s likely that trio will start on Friday.
READ MORE: Derby County star Eiran Cashin’s journey from almost released to Premier League transfer interest
By contrast, there’s strong competition for places at wing back and in midfield with Kane Wilson starting over Ryan Nyambe on the right while summer signing Ben Osborn gets deployed on the left.
That leaves a midfield two likely consisting of the defensive steel and energy of Ebou Adams and David Ozoh with a new signing starting in the number 10.
Derby are leading the race to sign Brest attacker Karamoko Dembele, who starred on loan at Blackpool last term and are hoping to beat Birmingham City to his signature.
Following the injury to Corey Blackett-Taylor, Warne is short on talented forward players and if he can successfully get a deal for the 21-year-old complete, he should start in a free-roam role against Blackburn.
As for his two strikers, with Jerry Yates suspended for three matches, the Rams should start Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Kayden Jackson as a pairing, which would leave James Collins and Conor Washington on the bench.