Derby County urged to seal triple deal in dream transfer scenario | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has outlined what a dream summer window will look like for the club

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…

Derby County’s league status for next season has not yet been confirmed as we approach the final fixtures of the term.

The Rams are fighting against relegation back to League One, with John Eustace’s side on the cusp of going down after just one year.

This will make planning for the summer transfer window difficult at this stage, as their budgets could depend on what division they’re competing in.

However, some work can still be done to get a head start before the campaign ends at the start of May.

Derby County’s dream summer transfer window

When asked what a dream summer transfer window would look like for the Rams, FLW’s Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward cited a new contract for Kane Wilson as key, with the 25-year-old out of contract in June.

He also believes new deals for Matt Clarke and Nat Phillips will help establish a strong spine for the squad, whichever division they’re competing in next year.

“First and foremost, for me, it would be tying [Kane] Wilson down to a new contract,” Woodward told Football League World.

“He’s probably Derby’s only real asset at the moment and I think we need to make sure we get him on a contract regardless of what league we’re in, so we can actually make some money off him if we did need to sell in the future.

“I obviously don’t think he would stay if we do go down, but he would be the one person I would be doing all I can to make sure we keep at the club.

“And then it would be similar with the likes of Phillips and Clarke.

“I think we need to try and keep them at the club.

“I think a lot depends on what league we’re in for all of those players, but hopefully if we can keep those players at the club we’ve got a real good platform to build from, and then you add [Ebou] Adams to that, there’s a really solid spine starting to appear through the team.”

Derby signing suggestions

Woodward named winger and centre-forward as two areas of the team that will need strengthening this summer, naming a lack of consistent goals as their biggest issue in the Championship.

“And then it is starting to bring in the luxury players, your wide players, your wingers and your centre-forwards,” he added.

“Because we’ve been woefully short of those this season, and probably the reason why we are struggling near the bottom of the league is our inability to create and take chances.

“We’ve been pretty solid throughout the backline, and in the central midfield role, but going forward we’ve just been dire most of the season.

“We’ve had to rely on the likes of Adamd and [Craig] Forsyth to chip in with really important goals, because our front-men and our wide-men haven’t really contributed much this season.

“So they would be the key areas I’d be looking to strengthen.”

Eustace will want to make his mark on the squad this summer

Regardless of what league Derby are competing in next season, this will be Eustace’s first transfer window with the club.

He will want to put his stamp on the squad, which will likely mean some upheaval.

It could prove a busy summer, and the Rams will have a lot of opportunities if they manage to stay up.

The next few weeks will be key for the long-term future of Derby, as being in the Championship will open a lot more doors to them in terms of player recruitment.