Derby County have struck gold with £1.4m agreement for player Wolves and Brentford once wanted | OneFootball

Derby County signed Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from Swedish side Djurgarden in August 2024, having previously been linked with Wolves and Brentford.

Derby County completed the signing of Swedish international goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from Djurgarden in August 2024, having previously been linked with Premier League outfits Wolves and, more recently, Brentford.

Derby didn't get off to the greatest of starts to the 2025/26 Championship season.

Despite manager John Eustace bringing in 13 new additions to Pride Park, the Rams won just one of their opening ten league fixtures, leading to early pressure being put upon Eustace.

However, Derby have since won four games on the bounce, defeating each of Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, and, most recently, Hull City on Tuesday evening, with the performances of Swedish goalkeeper Zetterstrom integral in the Rams finally finding form.

Zetterstrom joined Derby in August 2024 and made 40 league appearances for the Rams last season, missing only the first game of the season with Josh Vickers deputising in net and the final four games of the season due to a facial injury.

When hearing of the interest from Derby, Zetterstrom said: "Once I heard Derby were interested, I was just thinking 'Oh my God, this is huge'. It's such a big club with such a long history and that was special to hear.

"But growing up watching English football, I would say Petr Cech was someone I looked up to. He always stood out. My grandmother is from the Czech Republic as well and when I started to wear the helmet it made even more sense. The level he always performs at and the huge amount of clean sheets he kept was ridiculous."

The Swedish shot-stopper has started every single league game so far for Derby this season, and looks to be a shrewd pickup.

Derby County signed Jacob Widell Zetterstrom for just £1.4 million amid interest from Premier League clubs

Zetterstrom cost Derby just £1.4 million from Allsvenskan side Djurgarden, despite interest from Premier League side Wolves.

Wolves were on the lookout for a new goalkeeper last summer as a replacement for Jose Sa, and identified the Swede as a potential replacement at Molineux.

However, the Midlands club would opt to sign England international Sam Johnstone instead to come in and compete for the number one shirt.

With Wolves having the worst defence in the Premier League after 10 games this season, having conceded 22 goals already, sacking Vitor Pereira, and rotating between both Sa and Johnstone in between the sticks, The Old Gold could really do with some assurance in defence now, and may regret not moving for Zetterstrom when they had the chance.

More recently, this summer, Brentford were in the market for another goalkeeper following the departure of Mark Flekken to German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen, and identified Derby's stop-stopper as a potential target to join the West London outfit for a quoted price of around £3.5 million, according to Alan Nixon.

The Bees have, in the past decade, been notoriously savvy with their transfer business, so when they are interested in a player, usually there is a good reason behind it.

However, Keith Andrews' side opted to sign Republic of Ireland and former Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher ahead of him, much to the relief of Derby fans.

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom is proving to be a bargain pickup for Derby County

This season, Zetterstrom is proving exactly why interest in him from Premier League clubs is becoming increasingly common.

The 27-year-old, according to FotMob, leads the way in the Championship for goals prevented this season (4.6), ahead of compatriot and Stoke City shot-stopper Viktor Johansson (4.4).

Although Zetterstrom has conceded double that (18) of Johanasson (9), the Swede has won games on his own at times this season, especially against each of Norwich and Sheffield United.

At just £1.4 million, Derby have seemingly found a bargain in Zetterstrom, whose value, if he continues to impress, will only increase, much to the delight of the Rams.

However, Derby will no doubt be keen to keep hold of Zetterstrom for as long as possible, but with a contract running until the end of next season, a big decision will have to be made soon, whether to offer him a large sum to tie him down to a new deal or risk losing him on the cheap.

At six-feet-six-inches tall, the towering goalkeeper is proving to be one of the best players in his position in the league, and will no doubt remain on the shortlist of Premier League sides for the foreseeable future.