Crystal Palace may be left frustrated at latest Derby County development | OneFootball

The deal to sign Lewis Travis could impact David Ozoh's game time at Derby to the frustration of Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace will be concerned with the development of Derby County’s midfield plans after agreeing a loan deal to send David Ozoh to Pride Park early last summer.

John Eustace had his first opportunity to make his mark on the Rams’ first team squad following the end of last season, having only been appointed manager in February.

While the 20-year-old suffered regular injury issues last year, his initial loan spell with the Championship side showed he had promise to compete at that level.

It seemed a sensible move for the Eagles to renew the deal to keep Ozoh with Derby for another season, with the player not yet ready to break into Oliver Glasner’s first team plans.

However, the decision to sign Lewis Travis as Ebou Adams’ regular midfield partner could lead to a rethink over whether that was the right decision or not.

David Ozoh could struggle for minutes at Derby

Derby ensured they bolstered their midfield early in the summer when they agreed a deal for Ozoh in July.

However, with any loan move, the Rams know that it’s not a long-term solution to that area of the side, and so they kept working on a permanent arrival into the final weeks of the market.

Completing a deal with Blackburn to sign Travis was great for adding some strength and depth to the team, bringing in Championship quality and experience.

That the 27-year-old knows Eustace from his time as manager at Ewood Park only sweetened the terms of the agreement, as he’s brought someone that can transition smoothly from one club to another.

But the consequence for Crystal Palace is that Travis, who has already been made club captain by the Rams, is likely to become a regular starter this season.

With Adams as vice captain, it’s difficult to foresee either being taken out of Eustace’s ideal starting lineup any time soon.

This leaves Ozoh in a difficult position for regular minutes, and he may have to rely on substitute appearances and being used as rotation when games start coming thick and fast.

This won’t be what Palace would’ve been hoping for when they agreed to this loan deal, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the Premier League club were frustrated when Travis was signed.

Lewis Travis deal could hurt Derby's relationship with Crystal Palace

Ozoh’s injury issues prevented him from playing a larger role for Derby last season, which was quite unfortunate for the player.

While he is still only 20-years-of-age, he is now at a stage in his career where he does need to be playing regularly in order to make the most of his potential.

With Travis and Adams both ahead in the pecking order right now, it will be difficult to get ahead of them in the team without injuries or a particularly busy period of games.

Crystal Palace will take note if his game time remains limited by the January transfer window, and the Rams should be wary of the long-term impact this could have.

While the signing of Travis could prove a real coup, it’s possible that the London outfit will heavily consider whether to send their young talent to Pride Park in the future if this is what they can expect from these loan deals.