"Perfect business" - Pundit urges Derby County, Ipswich Town to do January deal | OneFootball

The 22-year-old is on the Rams' radar, and player-turned-pundit Palmer believes it would be a good move for both parties.

Carlton Palmer has told Derby County to bring Ali Al-Hamadi to Pride Park this month on loan, with the Ipswich Town striker currently struggling for minutes in the Premier League.

Paul Warne has made no secret of his desire to improve his forward line in the January transfer window, and the 22-year-old could be the perfect man to come in and help the Rams in their fight against a possible relegation battle.

Consistency has been hard to come by in recent weeks for the East Midlands side, and they have struggled in front of goal. Chances are coming in their droves, however, and there is a need for more competition for Jerry Yates up front.

Derby missed plenty of chances in their 4-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on New Year's Day, especially in the first half, and there will be some worries in the fanbase if nothing is done to rectify these issues.

Carlton Palmer backs Derby County to sign Ali Al-Hamadi

Al-Hamadi has been on the Rams' radar for some time, and Derbyshire Live reported earlier in the week that they remain interested in the striker.

Ipswich's promotion to the Premier League has led to his game time being severely limited at Portman Road, and his manager, Kieran McKenna, will be keen to see him get some minutes this season.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former England and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, Palmer, has backed Derby to bring the 22-year-old in.

"Derby County and Paul Warne are huge admirers of Ali Al-Hamadi and Derby would like to take him on loan in the January transfer window," he started.

"It's been a difficult time for him. He went to Ipswich and scored four goals, helping them get promoted to the Premier League, but he hasn't really featured. He's been on the bench, coming on as a substitute because of an injury to George Hirst.

"It has been reported that Ipswich are in the transfer market for a striker themselves, so I think it would be perfect business for Al-Hamadi to be loaned out, and Derby would be somewhere where he could get proper game time and be playing week-in-week-out.

"I don't think they'll let him go permanently. As I said, you've got to watch the situation at Ipswich and see how it goes. They had a fantastic win over Chelsea, but there's still a long way to go if they're going to stay in the Premier League. They've got to have one eye on the fact that if they do get relegated from the Premier League, who have they got on their books to help them get automatic promotion again back to the Premier League?"

Palmer continued: "It's going to be nip and tuck all the way to the end of the season. Even though that win against Chelsea was fantastic, and I think Kieran McKenna's doing a fantastic job of keeping them in touch in games where they're playing, I still believe that Wolves have improved and will keep on improving, and I think they'll do some business in the January transfer window.

"So, I still think Ipswich will go down, in my opinion, and Al-Hamadi is one of those players who would start for them in the Championship. I think a loan move would suit all parties right now, and Derby would be a good place for him to go."

Ali Al-Hamadi would relieve pressure on Jerry Yates

The Rams have been extremely wasteful in front of goal at times this season. It was evident in their last game against the Owls that they need to bring in another striker with quality to help put the ball in the back of the net.

There is a lot of pressure on Yates to provide the goals to keep Derby away from those fighting it out at the bottom of the table, and relieving some of that will only help the club.

Warne does not quite have the firepower that he would like in the striking department, with Conor Washington, Dajaune Brown and James Collins his other options in that position.

If they can work a deal with Ipswich and bring Al-Hamadi in on loan, then they may just have enough talent to take themselves back out of the relegation scrap and into a more secure position.