“Would be a shrewd move” – Derby County linked with transfer move for popular figure: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Graeme Shinnie could be on his way back to Derby County in the near future, according to Alan Nixon.

Writing on his Patreon, the reporter reveals that the Rams are looking at bringing Shinnie back into the club, not so long after he left for Wigan Athletic.

Would he be a good signing for the Rams, though? Some of our writers take a look now and discuss…

George Dagless

Derby fans would likely be very happy with this signing if Shinnie did return to the club.

He is a popular player among the Rams fans and there was natural disappointment when he left the club as the Rams scrambled around to keep themselves afloat.

They’re on a much better footing now, though, and the return of Shinnie would be a clear indicator of that, as they bid to get back into the Championship.

He is a good player with so much to offer on and off of the pitch, and I think this would be a really popular move if the Rams managed to pull this one off.

Marcus Ally

Derby County really need to improve their squad depth in January, with Paul Warne currently being forced to play players out of position and over-rely on a handful of individuals.

Graeme Shinnie would be a very smart pick-up this month, with the 31-year-old being a comfortable central midfielder at Championship level.

The deal should not be of high priority, with the position actually being one of the Rams’ stronger areas in the squad, but bringing someone in of Shinnie’s experience, who would definitely provoke a positive reaction from the supporter base, would be a shrewd move.

There would be an unusual sense of role reversal with this deal, given Wigan and Derby’s 2021/22 season trajectories, but it is a signing that the Rams should make if there is an opportunity to complete it.

Adam Jones

This could be a tempting reunion for the Rams considering how good he was during the first half of last season before moving on to Wigan Athletic.

For Shinnie, this is a move he would probably be prepared to make if he’s promised plenty of game time and he certainly has the CV to get Paul Warne’s men back to the Championship.

The Rams need to be wary of the possibility of limiting Max Bird and Liam Thompson’s game time though as well as Jason Knight – because all three are valuable assets and their valuation will only increase if they are regularly involved.

They won’t want Shinnie to disrupt their development, so this is a signing that should only be made if it doesn’t affect the playing time of some of their more promising players.

And he could be more of an asset on the left-hand side.

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