Derby County should sign goalscoring phenomenon to replace Dwight Gayle in summer: View | OneFootball

Derby County took a giant step forward to sealing a return to the Championship by beating Bolton Wanderers last weekend.

The Rams now have a healthy four-point cushion over the Trotters in third place, with just seven league games remaining to go.

Of course, there is still a lot of work for Derby to do before they can start celebrating, but if they remain in the form they are in now, this summer the club will be planning for life back in the second tier.

Derby are likely going to have some decisions to make this summer when it comes to their forward line, as Dwight Gayle, James Collins, and Martyn Waghorn’s contracts all end after this season.

It could be that not all three are renewed, and if that is the case, then Derby should revisit the interest in Notts County striker Macauley Langstaff to replace either one of these strikers.

It was reported in the middle of the January transfer window by HITC that Derby County, as well as Sunderland, were interested in signing Langstaff.

The report also stated that League One side Peterborough United were also keen to sign the 27-year-old in a bid to bolster their promotion hopes.

£1.5million to part ways with their goalscorer midway through the campaign.

Birmingham City and Wrexham were also mentioned as holding an interest, but no deal materialised for any of those sides, and the forward has remained at Meadow Lane.

But, with Notts County not as certain to make it into the fourth tier play-offs as they once were and the Rams potentially in the market for a new striker this summer, they should revisit their interest in the 27-year-old.

Derby should be looking to sign Macaulay Langstaff this summer

As mentioned, Derby County and Paul Warne will have decisions to make after this season finishes, as their three main strikers are all coming to the end of their contracts.

Now, while the Rams are unlikely to want to see all three players leave the club at once, one possible two may be allowed to leave, meaning they will need to find replacements.

Therefore, Derby should be looking at Langstaff as the ideal candidate to do just that, as he continues to impress at Notts County.

It might have been expected that Langstaff was going to leave the League Two side in January, but that didn’t happen.

But given that he has continued to score goals and that Notts County will likely be playing in League Two again next season, it would be an ideal time for someone like Derby to come to try and sign Langstaff.

Langstaff has been excellent this season, with 38 league appearances and scoring 24 goals, which is him averaging one every 139 minutes of football, as per Sofascore.com.

Langstaff is averaging 3.9 shots per game, with 1.6 on target, as he continues to be the League Two sides main scoring threat.

The only disappointing statistic for Langstaff is that he’s missed an incredible 25 big chances in the league so far, with his goal conversion rate being at 16% - imagine what his record could be like if he was a little more consistent in-front of goal.

However, the striker has chipped in to create chances for his teammates, creating three big chances for them, as well as 0.5 key passes per match and six assists notched, as per Sofascore.com.

Langstaff is likely going to be someone that is looked at by several teams this summer, so if Derby do revisit their interest, they need to expect they won’t be the only side interested.

However, if the Rams secure promotion to the Championship, it gives their chances of securing his signature a real boost.

There may be concerns about whether he can do it in the second tier, but Langstaff has shown now for a number of seasons that he is an excellent finisher, and given how well he’s done in this campaign, there’s no reason why he can’t continue that at another team and another level.

Promotion to the Championship for Derby will also likely see the EFL leave David Clowes and co to regulate themselves, with the league monitoring County's activity very closely following their period of administration a few years ago.

Derby need to let Dwight Gayle leave at the end of the season

Langstaff will only be needed if the Rams cut down on their current attacking options, with one of those being ex-Premier League hitman Dwight Gayle.

Derby signed Gayle in February after getting EFL approval to bring the forward in on a deal until the end of the season.

The striker was a free agent after leaving Stoke City earlier that month, so the Rams decided to bring in the experienced attacker to boost their promotion hopes.

Gayle has played in six league games so far and has three goals to his name, with those coming in wins over Port Vale, Bristol Rovers, and Reading.

His arrival looks to have been a success so far, but the risk of bringing in a player in his 30's with little game-time in recent months looks to have reared its ugly head.

Gayle had to be brought off in the recent win over Bolton, with Paul Warne revealing that the forward felt his hamstring.

This is another sign that Gayle is not a long-term solution to Derby’s strike force, and therefore, when the summer arrives, the Rams need to let Gayle move on and bring in a more reliable player who can help them either in the Championship or League One.

Gayle may play a part in Derby’s end to the season, but they cannot rely on him for the following campaign, as his injuries have made him an inconsistent player, so instead of renewing his deal, it just makes sense to let him go and replace him with a more reliable forward who can make a bigger impact - someone like Langstaff.