Derby County had a productive summer transfer window but Paul Warne will now regret not doing one thing.
After securing promotion back to the Championship for the first time in two years, Paul Warne wasted little time strengthening his squad over the summer.
Derby County signed 12 new players during the 2024 summer transfer window, several of which have impressed a fair bit since making the move to Pride Park.
EFL pundit Sam Parkin recently praised Derby goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom ahead of the Rams’ meeting with Millwall.
Elsewhere, Warne made his feelings on Kenzo Goudmijn clear, with the summer addition dubbed a ‘really good footballer’ by the manager.
Ahead of Championship football returning this weekend, meanwhile, Goudmijn is the highest-rated Derby player in 2024/25 so far.
But while the above duo and several other recent transfers have shone this season, it is clear Warne made one transfer mistake in the most recent window.
Paul Warne made one big Derby County transfer mistake this summer
Early in the summer window, the Derbyshire outfit secured deals for Kayden Jackson and Jerry Yates.
The former joined on a free transfer from Ipswich Town while Yates is on a season-long loan deal from Swansea City.
So far, neither player has set the world alight on the goal front. Jackson has largely played on the wing and is the club’s joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside a midfielder and a centre-back.
As for Yates, he has failed to find the net in seven league fixtures in 2024/25 despite starting as the club’s primary number nine.
Derby wanted to sign a striker in August but their deadline day push for another forward fell through.
This is already proving a costly transfer mistake and one Warne will no doubt be keen to rectify in the upcoming January window.
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Jerry Yates must improve in upcoming Derby County games
Yates was particularly poor in Derby’s defeat to Sheffield United last month and though his off-the-ball work has been solid at times in 2024/25, his lack of goals is a real concern.
Derby are not going to dominate too many teams in the Championship this season, especially those in the top half of the table.
This means it is crucial the likes fo Yates take their chances when they get them as they are expected to be very limited in many games.
If the Swansea loanee continues to underperform on the goal front in the next few weeks, Warne may be forced to look elsewhere to solve his striking problem but at present, his centre-forward options are limited.
Conor Washington, James Collins and Dajaune Brown are all potential options to replace Yates but none of that trio have a particularly prolific record in the Championship.