Derby County winger Florian Jozefzoon may have been given one last chance to salvage his career at Pride Park following Tom Lawrence’s recent two-match suspension.
Jozefzoon hasn’t started for Derby since early October, and he has appeared for just nine minutes in the Championship since the 3-0 defeat at Charlton ten weeks ago.
The 28-year-old was a Frank Lampard signing. He joined the Rams from fellow Championship side Brentford in the summer of 2018 for a reported £2.75 million fee.
Derby fans were initially excited by Jozefzoon’s arrival. At Brentford, he posted seven goals and seven assists in 31 league starts during the 2017-18 campaign.
(Photo by Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images).
But since arriving at Pride Park, he has been a major disappointment.
Jozefzoon made just 13 starts last season, scoring twice. Under Phillip Cocu, he has fallen further out of favour, making just six starts this season and posting one assist.
Derby have been short on numbers out wide. Loanee Jamie Paterson has featured out there, while Cocu has also opted to play Martyn Waghorn as a right winger.
In more recent weeks, academy stars Morgan Whittaker and Jason Knight have been handed starts in wide areas while fullback Jayden Bogle has also played further forward.
It seems Cocu has been reluctant to hand Jozefzoon another shot. And the Dutchman may have good reason for this, with the player struggling to make an impression.
Injuries and suspension to his teammates could change the player’s fortunes.
Mason Bennett remains out of action. Tom Lawrence, meanwhile, picked up his tenth yellow card of the season at Wigan Athletic, resulting in a two-game ban.
(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images).
Derby have so few other options, Jozefzoon must be in line for a recall.
Charlton are the Rams’ next opponents, and the Addicks’ dire away form of late is more reason to believe this could be Jozefzoon’s last chance to prove his worth ahead of January.
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