Derby County boss Paul Warne has provided a fresh update on the Rams’ pursuit of this Premier League man.
Derby County are yet to make any January signings this month.
The Rams have been involved in transfer headlines but the bulk of them have linked players with moves away from Pride Park.
Max Bird and Eiran Cashin remain targets for teams higher up in the English Football pyramid, though both remain at Derby County for the time being.
And another player that Warne hopes will be staying beyond this month is on loan Arsenal forward Tyreece John-Jules.
The 22-year-old has scored one in nine League One outings for the Rams so far this season.
Paul Warne reveals Tyreece John-Jules bid
John-Jules, 22, has spent a lot of time out injured this season, but announced his return to the side after scoring the winning goal at Port Vale back in November.
But he’s not scored since and he’s only started the one game, with his loan stay from Arsenal set to expire this month.
Derby County have been working on a new loan deal for the Englishman and providing a further update on the matter, Warne told Derbyshire Live:
“We have spoken to Arsenal and we put our offer in. They made a counter-offer so we went back and put another in. We are just about there by all accounts. I can’t see it falling through.
“That’s as much as I know. It might well be we are still negotiating a few things and a deal only happens when all parties are happy. We are virtually there, but as I speak it has not been completed.”
Warne also hinted at a possible permanent swoop for John-Jules in the summer, adding:
“If we can get to the end of the season and we can get game time until the end of the season, then I’ve got until May to try to convince him to stay.”
John-Jules sees his Arsenal contract expire this summer.
Why second John-Jules loan could be vital for Derby County
John-Jules clearly has potential and is clearly liked by Warne, who previously described John-Jules as a ‘deadly’ attacker.
But he’s not shown his best form yet and so there could be a lot more to come from him, so returning to Arsenal and likely being sent on loan to another club could derail the progression he’s made at Pride Park.
He’s had his injury troubles and being shipped out on loan time after time doesn’t help his cause either.
John-Jules needs some kind of stability and a Derby County loan extension would give him just that.
He’s steadily getting up to speed; both in terms of fitness and with the way that Debry play, so come the end of the season he could be bang in form, which would obviously be a huge boost to the Rams’ play-off credentials.
And if he can finish the season on a high then it would put him in the shop window ahead of his Arsenal contract expiry, with the Gunners currently looking unlikely to extend his stay at the club.
But having John-Jules at the club up until the summer would surely put Derby in the driving seat to secure his future, especially if they can go on and win promotion to the Championship.
The Rams return to action vs Burton Albion on Monday night.