Derby County 'have to' take £15m transfer action on World Cup star as Leeds United lurk | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County expert Shaun Woodward has urged his club to cash in on Jacob Widell Zetterstrom amid interest from Wolves and Leeds United.

Derby County have been urged to cash in on goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom after this summer's World Cup, amid interest from Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Rams' shotstopper made his World Cup debut on Friday with Sweden, as Graham Potter's side drew 1-1 with Japan in their final group match, securing themselves a spot in the round of 32 as one of the best third-place finishers.

Zetterstrom, 27, signed for Derby in the summer of 2024 from Swedish side Djurgardens and went on to establish himself as the club's clear first-choice goalkeeper, making 75 appearances across all competitions throughout his time at Pride Park thus far.

However, according to reports from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano via X, Championship newcomers Wolves, Premier League side Leeds, and Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt have made contact with Derby recently to sound out his price tag.

With his contract set to expire next summer, John Eustace's side could be keen to cash in on their star keeper this summer whilst his stock is high, and not run the risk of him leaving for free in 12 months time.

Derby County urged to cash in on Jacob Widell Zetterstrom this summer

Following Romano's reports of Wolves and Leeds' interest in Zetterstrom, Football League World spoke with their resident Rams expert, Shaun Woodward, to gather his thoughts on whether his club should consider selling the Swede.

Shaun told us: "It makes total sense to sell Zetterstrom in this window if we can get the reported £15 million for him.

That money would then go a long way towards bringing in 3–4 players, which would make our starting XI much more competitive and give us the best chance of getting into the Premier League.

"I'd love to keep Zetterstrom, but the fact is, if he's playing in the World Cup and clubs are after him, we've got to try and maximise his price tag and get as much as we can for him — strike whilst the iron's hot.

"With a year left on his contract, we might get next to nothing for him next year, so I think we do have to be looking to sell and reinvest.

"I think the fact [Patrick] Agyemang got injured, he's not at this World Cup, I think we'd have probably liked to have got a massive sell on for him and made money on him and reinvested that money.

"The fact that he's not there means we've got to try and make money from another player, and it looks like Zetterstrom is the best one to bring in as much money as we can for the club.

"Yeah it would be great to keep him, but the sensible thing would be to cash in and reinvest," he concluded.

Derby will hope Zetterstrom's price continues to rise

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With plenty of interest from different clubs in Zetterstrom, Derby will be hoping a bidding war can ramp up the 27-year-old's price tag as high as possible, maximising the cash windfall they'd receive.

The Swede has turned heads in the Championship and the World Cup, and with his contract running down, now seems like the perfect time to cash in on him, as Shaun alluded to.