Derby County have well and truly entered the second half of their League One campaign.
Having now played 24 league games this season, it won’t be long before they reach the business end and face the almighty challenge of winning promotion.
But to do that, Derby County need to keep their key players and also improve their ranks in the January window.
While The Rams have been linked with a number of players, one man they are hoping to keep a little longer is Tyreece John-Jules.
Reports have already claimed that the club are in talks with Arsenal to extend his loan spell at Pride Park, with the forward netting two goals in nine games this term.
They aren’t guaranteed to keep hold of John-Jules though and may be forced to look elsewhere.
So here are three alternative strikers Derby County could try to sign this month…
Macaulay Langstaff – Notts County
Tipped to become the ‘next Jamie Vardy’, Macaulay Langstaff is really impressing in League Two after making the switch to Notts County from Gateshead in 2022.
The striker scored a whopping 42 goals in 47 games as Notts County were promoted from the National League, and he certainly hasn’t slowed down since.
Langstaff now has 19 goals and five assists in 26 games in the fourth tier, with the Magpies sat fifth in the table.
The 26-year-old was linked with the likes of Ipswich Town, Plymouth and Bristol City in the summer, so there will undoubtedly be more interested this month.
Niall Ennis – Blackburn Rovers
Niall Ennis joined Blackburn Rovers in the summer after impressing in League One, netting 12 goals for Plymouth Argyle.
The ‘outstanding‘ striker has so far struggled with injuries though and has only made three starts, while he has failed to score in his eight appearances in the Championship so far.
It may be a very ambitious signing given that Blackburn have struggled for a goalscoring striker this season, but they could ask the question if Rovers ended up signing another forward this month.
Freddie Ladapo – Ipswich Town
Freddie Ladapo is very well proven in League One, scoring 60 goals in the third tier for Ipswich, Rotherham and Plymouth over the last five seasons.
The forward bagged 21 goals in all competitions for Ipswich in their promotion-winning campaign, however he has so far made only two starts in the Championship.
Journalist Darren Witcoop reported that Paul Warne was interested in signing Ladapo in the summer, so he could well go back in for him in January.