Derby County could brutally axe one of their current first-team stars in the January transfer window to help complete a key piece of business.
Derby County will be looking at ways to strengthen their squad in the next few months.
Paul Warne’s men are currently sitting in a comfortable 12th position but only four points separate them from 22nd place Luton Town.
It means that, while it’s been a solid start on their Championship return, there is still a lot of work for Warne to do in their hopes of surviving, and that is where January comes into play.
Derby produced a successful summer of business, with several players starring, including Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Kenzo Goudmijn, and Jerry Yates.
But there is one star who has struggled, and that is to no fault of his own.
Tawanda Chirewa has been unlucky at Derby County
Tawanda Chirewa was one of five players to arrive on loan during the summer, and he joined with high hopes coming from Wolves.
Predominantly an attacking midfielder, the 21-year-old was expected to play regularly as a number 10, though he’s been incredibly unfortunate.
After suffering a concussion while on international duty with Zimbabwe, Chirewa suffered a ‘freak’ injury at the start of October, meaning he’d be sidelined for the next four to eight weeks.
Chirewa was once dubbed an ‘excellent’ player but injury has denied him the chance to showcase his talent, playing just 84 minutes of Championship football.
That is frustrating for the player and Warne, who was left saddened by his latest setback and will want him to return very soon, otherwise, he could consider cancelling the loan.
Why Paul Warne could axe Chirewa
Chirewa hasn’t had a fair chance to demonstrate why he was signed by the club but he’s currently taking up a valuable loan spot.
Depending on how his condition improves in the next couple of months, the young attacking midfielder could return to his current club.
This would allow Warne to add another loan player to his squad, perhaps strengthening in the striker position, with the Rams potentially in for a target man in the transfer window.
It would be a brutal action to cancel the loan of someone who has been very unfortunate with injuries however, if it means saving money on another loan signing, it’s an avenue worth exploring.