How much Derby County are set to pay Sturm Graz for Max Johnston as Pride Park deal nears | OneFootball

The Rams are set to bring another long-standing transfer pursuit to its end

Derby County have made yet another transfer breakthrough, with the seven-figure fee they are set to pay Austrian side Sturm Graz for Scotland international Max Johnston revealed.

The Rams have, like other Championship sides, targeted a move for the 21-year-old, and are set to take their incoming count to 11 after what has been an extremely active summer transfer window under John Eustace in what is the 45-year-old's first full season in the Pride Park dugout.

After surviving in the second-tier on the final day of last season, Eustace has recruited a mixture of exciting, young talents as well as several seasoned Championship campaigners, although Johnston certainly will provide plenty of knowhow after being capped by Scotland at senior level and featuring in the UEFA Champions League.

Derby parted with a significant sum of cash to sign striker Patrick Agyemang from Charlotte FC earlier in the summer, and now the structure of the deal which has seen them fend off divisional and continental competition for the highly-coveted defender has been made public knowledge.

Structure and finances of Max Johnston's move from Sturm Graz to Derby County revealed

Johnston, who has featured 65 times for the side who he has won the Austrian Bundesliga twice with since joining from Motherwell two summers back, was previously on the radar of both Watford and Southampton earlier in the window, with the Rams initially launching a rejected £1.4m bid for the Middlesbrough-born man at the start of the month.

Sturm Graz would reject that particular offer, as well as a slightly improved bid of £1.6m, with Sky Sports reporting late last week that Eustace's outfit had made a third bid of at least £2m with improved add-ons for the right-back as clubs across Europe, including Serie A outfit, Bologna, became alert to the transfer saga.

But, with just a week left in the transfer window, the same publication have now revealed that Johnston is bound for the East Midlands, with the two clubs agreeing a deal in the region of £3.5m.

The update from Anthony Joseph states that an initial fee of £2.2m will be paid by Derby, with the rest of the aforementioned fee relying on add-ons worth up to £1.1m.

The Rams are now believed to be at the stage of agreeing personal terms with the former Queen of the South and Cove Rangers man, who will travel to England to undergo a medical after being named in the Scotland squad once more for next month's World Cup European Qualifiers against Denmark and Belarus.

Derby County could land major coup as Sturm Graz, Max Johnston transfer breakthrough made

Johnston is one of Europe's most highly-rated young defenders at present, meaning there is significant scope for Derby to make a hefty profit on his signature in the years to come if his potential is maximised.

In the short-term though, it is also yet another shrewd piece of business by Eustace, as the full-back will provide strong competition for the likes of Kane Wilson and Ryan Nyambe, with the latter also not particularly known for his attacking output since signing for the club.

It is yet another example of the hierarchy giving the head coach the tools required to finish assembling a highly-competitive squad that could challenge towards the top-six, with another long-standing transfer saga involving Lewis Travis set to conclude imminently after Derby and Blackburn agreed a £3m fee for the 27-year-old central midfielder.

After such a positive transfer window, supporters will hope their side can improve on the return of just one point from three Championship games, starting with next Saturday's away match at newly-relegated Ipswich Town.