Derby County may have been handed a second chance to sign reported summer target Cameron Carter-Vickers after Tottenham Hotspur recalled him from his loan spell.
The 21-year-old versatile defender was highly sought-after during the summer.
TEAMtalk claim Derby were one of several Championship clubs interesting in bringing him in. Stoke City, however, won the race for his signature.
But the defender, who turns 22 on New Years Eve, rarely got going at Stoke. He made just 15 appearances for the Potters, with the side struggling near the bottom.
His form at the Bet365 Stadium hardly prompts excitement over his likely availability in January. That said, he was a consistent performer for Swansea City last season.
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Cameron Carter-Vickers could help bolster Derby’s options:
Derby are desperately short on defensive options. Last season’s centre-back pairing Fikayo Tomori and Richard Keogh are no longer around, while Matt Clarke is injured.
Manager Phillip Cocu is currently playing Curtis Davies, 34, and natural left-back Craig Forsyth at central defence. Both have struggled in recent months.
A new centre-back is a top priority for the Rams in January. The Telegraph claim Leicester City’s Filip Benkovic is a target, but Carter-Vickers could now become another option.
Spurs reportedly value the player at £5 million as they weighed up selling him last summer.
New Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho may want to take a closer look at him over the next week. But, it’s likely Spurs will allow him to go out on loan again.
Carter-Vickers has had spells at Ipswich Town, Sheffield United and Swansea prior to his Stoke move. It didn’t work out in Staffordshire, but he still has a lot of potential.
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