2 players who could follow Conor Washington out of Derby County in January 2025 | OneFootball

The Rams have made a decent start to the new season, but will be hoping to make some space in their squad for improvements in January.

Derby County have returned to the Championship in style, and while it has taken long than hoped for to take their first away points of the season, the future is looking bright.

Paul Warne's side picked up two points in their last two matches on their travels, drawing against both Millwall and Oxford United, 1-1.

In those games, two of their attacking players who were yet to break their duck for the campaign finally got off the mark, as Jerry Yates and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing found the back of the net for the first time in 2024/25.

It eases a lot of pressure on the pair who may have been wondering when the first goal was going to come, and it is something that will have a knock-on effect further down the squad, as those who play in their positions are pushed further away from the starting XI.

With just over two months until the transfer window opens, Football League World has taken a look at three Derby players who may find themselves on the way out of Pride Park in January, either permanently or on loan, as they look for more gametime, and Warne looks to open up free positions in his squad.

Sell - Conor Washington

Conor Washington's 2024/25 has not lived up to his own expectations, and he continues to be the Rams' fourth-choice striker behind Yates, James Collins and Dajaune Brown.

The 32-year-old scored three goals in 19 League One games last season, but this campaign has been an extremely difficult one for the former Rotherham United striker.

A handful of unused substitution appearances is all that the Northern Irish international has to his name currently, and it's difficult to see that changing any time soon unless Derby have an injury crisis.

It seems likely that Washington will move on in January, and the Rams must make sure that they can free up at least one position in their squad to bring in another striker of quality.

A move to League One could be the perfect way for the forward to get himself firing again, as his time at Pride Park has not been the easiest of rides. A decent finisher on his day, Washington has not shown Warne why he should be in the team ahead of others in training, and after playing for the club's development side, it seems as though his future lies away from DE24.

Sell - Tom Barkhuizen

Similar to Washington, Tom Barkhuizen has struggled to carry over his involvement from last season into the current one.

He featured in the Rams' first four games of the campaign, but a struggle to get over a calf strain picked up in the warm-up ahead of Derby's 1-0 win over Cardiff City has seen the winger miss every one of his side's games since.

The signing of Kayden Jackson has pushed the 31-year-old lower down the pecking order than he once was, and when he is back fit he could play a small part off the bench.

However, Derby's January signing, Corey Blackett-Taylor, is finally starting to show why he was brought to the club from Charlton Athletic, and has made his way into Warne's plans for the season in recent weeks.

Barkhuizen will continue to struggle for minutes when he does return from injury, and he may look for a transfer to get himself playing consistently.

Loan - Jake Rooney

The last year has been extremely difficult for Jake Rooney, and although it seemed as though the versatile defender was going to be back in the team for the start of the season, a setback in the summer following an ACL injury he suffered in September 2023 has meant that he has been out of action for nearly 14 months.

While it has been tough for the 21-year-old, he is slowly getting back to full fitness, and he did play his first full 90 minutes of the campaign for the U21s in their 1-0 win over Brentford in the Premier League Cup on Monday 21 October.

It's been a long road back for the cousin of former Derby manager Wayne Rooney, but he is slowly getting back towards the first team, however, a loan move to League One could be the perfect way for him to get the gametime that he needs to continue with his recovery.

Rooney is extremely talented, and is definitely one for the future, but at this current time there is not a place for him in Warne's team, and helping his development elsewhere seems like the best thing for him right now.