Paul Warne has opened up the curtain on Derby County’s attempts to sign a striker on Deadline Day.
Derby County fans will certainly have come away from transfer Deadline Day with more hope in comparison to the start of the window, where Paul Warne was handed the tricky task of heading the rebuild of a side that had been massively depleted by a sizeable released list at the end of the 2023/24 season.
The Rams managed to necessarily improve their defensive options with the impressive addition of Nat Phillips on loan from European giants Liverpool, whilst also bolstering the wide options with the signing of Premier League winger Marcus Harness from Ipswich Town.
Whilst Warne successfully covered these two areas with assured Championship quality, he was looking at extra players to lead the line, despite the earlier signings of Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson.
Following the conclusion of the summer window, Warne opened up on the unsuccessful attempts to bring in another striker in the final hours.
- READ MORE: Man Utd legend Paul Scholes explains how he hijacked ‘fantastic’ Derby County ace from another club
Paul Warne believes Derby County ‘did everything’ in striker pursuit
Following his side’s impressive 3-0 victory at Pride Park against Bristol City, Derby County boss Warne was questioned about the approach taken on Deadline Day this summer, and whether any strikers were targeted to bring to the club.
Speaking to BBC Sport Derby, Warne said: “Yeah I did and I think the whole league did [attempt to sign a striker].
“One of the 9’s I tried for, what his wages were and what he ended up costing was three times his salary.
“We attempted one or two.
“In truth we didn’t investigate abroad like we possibly would have.
“In the end a lot of things happened really quickly but yeah we thought we had one yesterday but in the end the player decided he wanted to stay at his parent club so that was disappointing .
“I don’t have any anxiety about it. Any regret about it. We did everything we could.”
Derby County reportedly attempted a move alongside fellow Championship side Millwall for Watford Watford attacker Mileta Rajovic, however no such move came into fruition.
- READ MORE: The prediction Paul Warne made in text to Derby County star came true during Bristol City thrashing
Extra striker signing could have proven to be a double-edged sword for Paul Warne
Following the signings of both Yates and Jackson, Warne has been left with five options to lead the line.
Both Conor Washington and James Collins have surprisingly stayed at the club this term, and Dajaune Brown was also not moved on for another loan spell in order to further aid his development.
The striker options are certainly excessive to say the least at this point, and another name in the mix could have easily caused some serious problems for Warne regarding selection.
He has potentially dodged a bullet this time out with being unable to make an extra addition up-top, whilst still successfully getting deals for a centre-back and a winger over the line.
There is no doubt that attacking options of Yates and Jackson are more than satisfactory for Warne’s side for the 2024/25 campaign, and whilst the Derby County boss made it clear that he wanted to bolster his options in attack, there was far from a necessity to do so.