Derby County failed to secure promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking and thus looked set to lose some of their key stars in the summer.
While Jason Knight left for Bristol City, the Rams did well to keep hold of Eiran Cashin despite interest.
The defender was named Derby’s Young Player of the Year last term, before he became the subject of multiple bids from Brighton.
The Seagulls were prepared to pay £4 million to bring Cashin to the south coast, but ultimately ran out of time and the centre-back remained at Pride Park.
However, reports have now claimed that the list of interested parties is rapidly growing. West Ham and Burnley are among the clubs that are now looking to snap Cashin up in January, while Carlton Palmer has claimed he will ‘almost certainly’ be on his way out.
So with Derby eager to cash in before he can leave for free in the summer, here are three defenders that Paul Warne could sign as Cashin’s replacement…
Cameron Humphreys
Cameron Humphreys is one player that Derby County are probably already considering swooping in for in January.
Paul Warne snapped the centre-back up from Zulte Waragem last summer, just months before he left Rotherham United to make the move to the Midlands.
Humphreys has since made 46 appearances in the Championship and could well be on his way out as Rotherham head for the drop.
Reports in the summer claimed that Derby were ready to move for the £1.5 million-rated defender and could move for him once again next month.
Michael Ihiekwe
Michael Ihiekwe is a favourite of Paul Warne’s, with the Rams boss buying him for Rotherham United back in 2017.
The 31-year-old made almost 200 appearances for The Millers before joining Sheffield Wednesday last summer.
Ihiekwe made 23 appearances in League One as the Owls were promoted, however he has only made four starts this term.
While far from the youth of Cashin, Warne could certainly get the best out of the defender.
Nelson Abbey
Nelson Abbey was brought into the first team following Reading’s relegation to League One and has established himself as a regular, even earning the captain’s armband in Andy Yiadom’s absence.
The England U20 international’s contract is set to expire next summer and The Royals could look to offload him in January due to their financial problems, while they look like they could endure a second consecutive relegation.