"My biggest worry" - Derby County's biggest asset name-dropped as summer transfer concern issued | OneFootball

Sondre Langas has made a strong start to life as a Ram, despite his side losing 4-0 against QPR on Friday evening.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The departure of Eiran Cashin just four days before the end of the January transfer window left Derby County with extremely limited options at centre-back.

Matt Clarke had only just joined the club from Middlesbrough on a permanent deal until the end of the season, but with Curtis Nelson out for the majority of 2025 and Nat Phillips struggling with fitness at the time, it was surprising to see the 23-year-old leave.

Brighton & Hove Albion spent £9m on the Rams' greatest asset, and while he has not made his first appearance as a Seagull yet, supporters of his former club will be looking forward to seeing him play in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, his sale did allow Derby to pay out on their highest transfer fee of the 2020s, as Sondre Langas joined the club for a reported £4m from Norwegian side Viking FK.

The defender was Paul Warne's final permanent signing while the head coach at Pride Park, and he has made a strong start to life in England - even though he was part of a defence that conceded four times in one match against QPR.

Sondre Langas name-dropped in Derby County's most valuable asset debate

John Eustace has not had the best start to life in the dugout as a Ram, with his new side suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat to an in-form QPR side at Loftus Road.

However, he had only taken on the role at the club the previous day, and with a full week's worth of training, there will be renewed hopes that the East Midlands outfit can take their first three points of 2025 against Millwall on Saturday.

To do so, they will have to be more solid defensively than they were against QPR, and Langas will have to show the same performance levels that he did against Norwich City and Oxford United.

Those two games earned him many plaudits from supporters and when asked by Football League World which Rams player is currently the most prized asset at the club right now, it is clear to see that those performances have already rubbed off on Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward.

Shaun told FLW: "Even though he's only been at the club for what feels like two minutes, but it is three games now, it's Sondre Langas.

"I mean, the boy was our best player in the first two games. He was man of the match in both those games. He looks an absolute bargain at the reported £4m we paid for him, and he looks really comfortable in this league.

"He's only going to get better the longer he's in the country, the more he settles in and the more he gets used to his teammates."

Shaun continued: "My biggest worry is that he's put himself in the shop window almost because if we go down I can't see him wanting to play third tier football, especially not when he's in and around the Norwegian national squad.

"So, it's a real worry to me that he might want to leave for the sake of his international career. I hope I'm wrong, but I think if he wants to leave then we would need to be getting at least £6m-£7m for him.

"I'm not saying we’re cashing in yet, but I think over time he could become even better because he's got all the attributes to be an amazing centre-back."

Derby County have a potential star on their hands in Sondre Langas

At 24, Langas has an incredibly bright future and Derby will hope that survival in the Championship guarantees that he will stick around for a number of years.

His height, pace and strength combine to make a formidable opponent for many attackers in the second tier, and Oxford's Alex Matos found out just how hard it is to take the ball past him in their 0-0 draw with the Rams last Tuesday.

Derby will feel as though they got a bargain by spending just £4m on the defender, and if he continues to impress as he has done in the early days of his career in black-and-white, a new fan favourite may have taken the number six shirt that Cashin left.