"Desperately need" - Derby County urged to strengthen key area amid Louie Barry links | OneFootball

It's obvious to FLW's Derby fan pundit which part of the squad needs to be improved in the new year.

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 must strengthen in attack, according to Football League World's Rams fan pundit.

The goals were flowing the last time Derby played a game, getting a more than comfortable 4-0 win over Portsmouth at Pride Park.

Of the three sides that came up from League One, Paul Warne's team certainly look like they are going to have the most comfortable year, despite acknowledgment from County's owner, David Clowes, that more money will be needed, via the means of other investors, to turn them into a competitive outfit at this level.

Clowes would be willing to give up 80% of his stake in order to provide Derby with the funding that they need, according to The Telegraph, but, with the January window around the corner, and no signs of new investors, he will probably have to dig a bit into his back pocket if Warne wants to bolster his team in the new year.

Derby County urged to sign attackers in January

If they are going to do business, Derby need to add more quality in the attacking areas, according to Shaun Woodward, FLW'sCounty fan pundit.

They have been linked with Aston Villa loanee Louie Barry, who has been tearing up the third tier this season, but so have most other Championship teams, including those who are at the top of the table, like Leeds United, Middlesbrough, and Sheffield United, so County's chances of landing the forward aren't high.

"Our number one priority in the transfer window has to be a frontman," said Woodward. "I've been saying it all season long that I think most fans have been crying out for something different up front. We just don't have the quality up there.

"Yates, if he plays in a three he gets very isolated. If he plays in a two, yes, he can look a bit better when there's someone close to him, but we don't have that second striker that's accustomed to that role. So a big target man might benefit Yates, or we look at the likes of Louie Barry, who has been banging in the goals for fun in League One.

"I think he's got 14 or 15 goals already this season, which is more than Collins got last season as out top scorer in that league. He clearly looks like he could make the step up. He's young; it'd be interesting to see if he could come in and really support that frontline.

"But we desperately need attacking options, because Yates is our top scorer with four goals and we're heading into the new year, which isn't ideal."