Derby County, Andi Weimann prediction made for 2026 - 'I can see Eustace' | OneFootball

FLW's Rams fan pundit believes that Weimann's experience and contributions have been important to the Rams so far this season.

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…

Derby County's Andi Weimann returned to Pride Park in the summer from Blackburn Rovers on a one-year contract, and FLW have spoken to our resident Rams fan pundit about whether that contract should be extended.

Following an extremely underwhelming start to the season, Derby County have started to gather a head of steam in recent weeks. As recently as the middle of October, it seemed likely that the Rams could be on for another battle to avoid relegation back to League One, but five wins in a row have pushed them into the top half of the Championship table and they'll be hoping to continue that momentum to push towards the play-off places.

As such, the pressure that was starting to build under manager John Eustace has lifted and the club's summer transfer business can now be seen in a more positive light.

One of the players to arrive at Pride Park was a returnee. Andreas Weimann re-signed for them following his release by Blackburn Rovers, and he was previously with the club from 2015 to 2018. But Weimann is now 34 years old, and one question for Eustace to ponder as the season continues is whether it will be worth extending his Derby contract come the end of this season.

Derby County, John Eustace tipped to offer new Andi Weimann contract in 2026

Football League World have spoken to our Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward about Weimann's progress and whether Eustace should offer that new contract, and Shaun believes that the forward has demonstrated his value to the Derby manager: "I can see Eustace giving Weimann another year's contract, if he carries on the way he is. He's a reliable player, he's someone that he knows he can put for half an hour, he can work his socks off for the team, he can be a nuisance for centre-halves and full-backs, and he's going to get you odd goal, or give you an assist."

Shaun feels that Weimann has several key attributes that aren't necessarily easy to find in players, and can see the value he brings to the squad: "I think he's an important player. He's an experienced player at Championship level, he's scored more than 100 goals, he's played a lot of games.

"He knows what he's doing at this level, and I think those kinds of players are hard to come by. So I think you've got to be looking after that kind of player when they come along. He's not going to give you three games a week, 90 minutes every game, but he does give you is effort, endeavour and intelligence.

And he feels that Weimann has demonstrated that value on the pitch for Derby County in recent weeks, with some key interventions in matches: "I like him. I think he's an important player for Derby, an important member of the squad, and I can see Eustace giving him another year.

"I think he's already helped us win six or seven points from some of his contributions. He was heavily involved in the Hull winner when he came on and got a good assist to set up [Patrick] Agyemang to score his first goal for Derby against Southampton, and he obviously scored the winning goal away to West Bromwich Albion, so he's had some key moments."

Derby County's Andi Weimann remains important at Pride Park

There can certainly be no doubting Andreas Weimann's experience at Championship level. He first arrived in England in 2010 at a Premier League level with Aston Villa, but dropped a division to sign for Derby County in 2015 and has now spent more than a decade in this division, having also played at this level for Watford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers before returning to Pride Park in the summer.

And while Weimann's involvement on the pitch has been relatively peripheral so far this season - of his 13 appearances for the Rams this season, nine have come from the bench - with one goal, two assists and an xG of 1.31, his impact has not been insignificant, including the 84-minute goal at The Hawthorns in September which gave Derby their only win from their first ten League games from the season.

Andreas Weimann will turn 35 at the very start of next season, and whether that new contract extension is forthcoming may depend on where Derby County are by that time. For the first few weeks of this season, it looked as though there was a possibility that it might even be back in League One, but he's played a substantial role in getting them back on track.

Derby's focus on youth means that keeping more experienced players who've proved themselves at a Championship level is something that may be in the forefront of John Eustace's mind. And there's history between these two, as well. They were together at Blackburn last season, and when Weimann scored a spectacular goal for Rovers to rescue a point against Burnley at the end of August 2024, Eustace said: "It doesn’t matter how old he is (or) how young he is when you have a player of that quality. Everyone can see the impact he has had on and off the pitch. We are very fortunate that he decided to sign here.”

Youth is important for any club seeking to keep themselves financially buoyant in the shark-infested waters of the Championship, but having older players around younger players setting an example also matters, and Andreas Weimann's experience certainly offers that. The question now is for how much longer Derby County can continue their upward swing.