Derby County would be "lucky" to land Rangers transfer deal over Sheffield United - but there is one "concern" | OneFootball

FLW's Rams Fan Pundit claims the East Midlands outfit "would be lucky" to sign Joe Rothwell ahead of the Blades next month

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…

There is belief that Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell would be a "great player" to bring to Derby County in January, but one concern remains about head coach John Eustace building for the future.

Journalist Alan Nixon reported via his Patreon over the weekend that the Rams have made checks over a potential move for the 30-year-old in the upcoming transfer window, and he says the player fits what Eustace is after.

Rothwell joined Rangers from Bournemouth this past summer, but has struggled to make an impact in the Scottish Premiership - seeing himself fall down the pecking order under manager Danny Rohl. In total, he's only started five league matches for them so far.

Sheffield United, however, are understood to be in 'pole position' for his signature, according to The Daily Record, so Derby may face some competition if they want to sign him next month.

Derby County "would be lucky" to sign Joe Rothwell from Rangers

FLW’s Derby County fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, claims Rothwell would be a tremendous addition to John Eustace's squad at Pride Park.

"I think any club in the Championship who gets Joe Rothwell would be happy," Woodward told FLW.

"He’s a very experienced player at this level, played in the Premier League, got promotions as well in this league, so a great player to bring in to any club in January."

At this moment in time, the Rams are without midfielders David Ozoh and Lewis Travis through injury, leaving Eustace's options severely stretched in the middle of the park.

Albeit Travis is confirmed to be back on the grass but not in full training, Ozoh is still several weeks away, as per The Derby Telegraph. Woodward recognised the timing of Rothwell's availability as relevant to Derby's current situation in the middle of the park.

"We’d be lucky to get him, the fact we’ve got the likes of Ozoh out, Travis out, we would desperately need someone in there of that ilk, so I’d love to see us get him," Woodward added.

In truth, Rothwell's pedigree in the second tier is well established - he has made 204 Championship appearances across his career, with 14 goals and 22 assists to his name.

Most recently, the midfielder featured regularly for Leeds United during their 24/25 promotion-winning campaign, making 36 league appearances and grabbing four assists. Rothwell also scored four goals in 20 matches for Southampton as they went up via the playoffs the year before.

Joe Rothwell "short-term" concern raised for Derby County under John Eustace

As much as he backs the potential signing of Rothwell, Woodward raised a question mark over the direction of Derby's recruitment strategy, particularly regarding Rothwell's age.

"My only concern is he's 31 in January, and are we looking to go down that route of short-term fixes, or do we need to start looking at the future," Woodward highlighted.

"Personally, I still think there's room for one or two players in there and then build around them, so we'll see what happens but it'd be great to see him come here."

In the summer, Eustace signed two of his former Blackburn players in Andi Weimann and Danny Batth, who are now 33 and 34 years of age respectively, and even before that the club have had a recent history of signing players on the wrong side of 30.

Towards the end of last season, the ex-Rovers boss made the short-term free agent signings of Erik Pieters, Jeff Hendrick and Kemar Roofe - so Woodward's concern is very valid.

"I've heard that he's likely to go to Sheffield United, so they can probably offer a bit more money than us, so we'll see, but it'd be a great player to add to the squad and potentially the starting 11, especially with the fact that we are so lightweight in the middle at the moment." Shaun concluded.

All in all, Derby are in need of reinforcements in the middle of the pitch - and Rothwell has lots of past experience in getting promoted - but given just how little he's played north of the border, his legs may not have enough in them to make too much of a difference at Pride Park.