2024 Derby County signing may be the big loser in £3m Lewis Travis transfer | OneFootball

Kenzo Goudmijn may be concerned about his future at Derby County after the £3 million signing of Lewis Travis.

It has been a disappointing start to the season for Derby County in the Championship, but the club are continuing to make headlines in the transfer market.

Derby were tipped as one of the potential dark horses this season, but they lost their opening two league games against Stoke City and Coventry City, conceding eight goals in the process, before being held to a 1-1 draw by Bristol City at Pride Park on Friday night.

However, many of the Rams' summer signings are still getting up to speed, and having already completed a number of eye-catching deals in recent weeks, the East Midlands outfit brought in two further additions on Wednesday, with defender Max Johnston arriving from Sturm Graz in a £3.5 million deal and midfielder Lewis Travis joining from Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3 million.

Johnston is a highly-rated right-back who has long been linked with a move to England, while Travis is a proven Championship performer, so both should add some much-needed quality to the Derby squad to help kickstart a season that is yet to really get going.

However, while the signing of Travis will delight Rams supporters, one player who may be concerned by the presence of the former Blackburn captain is fellow midfielder Kenzo Goudmijn.

Kenzo Goudmijn may have Derby County fear after Lewis Travis arrival

Goudmijn joined Derby from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar last summer, and after he scored two goals in his first seven appearances, supporters could have been forgiven for thinking the club had unearthed a gem.

While Goudmijn was unable to maintain those early high standards, he continued to be a solid performer for the Rams for much of last season, but he fell out of favour after John Eustace replaced Paul Warne in February, making just one start in the last 14 games of the campaign after the managerial change.

In fact, Goudmijn remained as an unused substitute in each of the final three games of the season as Derby looked to secure survival, which was perhaps the first indication that Eustace is not totally convinced by the 23-year-old.

Goudmijn started in the Rams' defeat at Stoke on the opening weekend, but he has since lost his place in the team, with Eustace preferring Ebou Adams, David Ozoh and Liam Thompson ahead of him, and the competition for places in midfield has just got significantly stronger.

Derby had already signed one new midfielder this summer, with Bobby Clark joining on loan from RB Salzburg, and after the ex-Liverpool youngster opened his account for the club in the EFL Cup defeat at Burnley on Tuesday night, he looks ready to force his way into the starting line-up.

With Travis becoming the latest midfielder to make the switch to Pride Park, Goudmijn could fall even further down the pecking order, and there are now question marks about whether he has a long-term future with the Rams.

Kenzo Goudmijn may need to consider Derby County exit before transfer deadline

One thing that has become clear about Eustace this summer is that he is keen to work with players he knows and trusts, and Travis has joined Danny Batth, Dion Sanderson, Owen Beck and Andreas Weimann in reuniting with the 45-year-old at Pride Park after playing under him previously at Blackburn.

With that in mind, and given the substantial fee the club have paid for his services, it seems certain that Travis will be one of the first names on Eustace's team sheet, and the same applies to Adams, who has established fan favourite status among the Derby faithful over the past 18 months.

Adams was said to be on the radar of a number of Championship clubs earlier in the summer, but unless the situation changes drastically in the final days of the transfer window, the 29-year-old will be remaining in the East Midlands.

With Travis and Adams likely to be guaranteed starters, Clark could soon fall into the same category if he is able to fulfil his potential, and he surely would not have turned down interest from Premier League duo Leeds United and Sunderland without firm guarantees of regular game time.

Amid the recent transfer activity, it is easy to forget that the Rams pulled off another coup last month when they re-signed Ozoh on loan from Crystal Palace, while Eustace is clearly an admirer of Thompson, having started him in all three league games so far.

With such fierce competition for Eustace's three midfield spots, which could become two if he decides to switch formation to accommodate more of his attacking options, Goudmijn is in danger of becoming something of a forgotten man at Pride Park, and the fact he was not even brought off the bench in the EFL Cup defeat at Burnley in midweek was another worrying development for the Dutchman.

It was not long ago that Goudmijn's arrival generated plenty of excitement among Derby supporters, but after just over a year at the club, his future now looks to be in serious doubt, and he may need to push for a loan or permanent move before the transfer window slams shut next week.