Derby County should push to sign Premier League outcast - Lee Hendrie thinks it'll be a 'nice fit' | OneFootball

Derby County have been tipped to go in for Brighton winger Tom Watson this January

Derby County are the Championship's in-form team heading into the international break, winning each of their last five league outings, and have been tipped to further strengthen their squad this January with the addition of Brighton and Hove Albion outcast Tom Watson.

Derby County had a busy summer.

The Rams made 13 new additions to the squad under John Eustace, including the arrivals of the likes of Patrick Agyemang, Ben Brereton Diaz, Carlton Morris, Max Johnston, and Lewis Travis, but endured a slow start to the campaign.

Derby won just one of their opening ten league fixtures this season, as pressure was slowly beginning to mount on Eustace with no excuses of a quiet summer, but they have since responded emphatically.

Wins against Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Hull City and Blackburn Rovers see Derby head into the international break in 10th place, well clear of the relegation zone.

Despite their upturn in form, in a Football League World exclusive, Lee Hendrie tipped the Rams to go in for out-of-favour Brighton winger Tom Watson this January to strengthen their wide attacking options, labelling the 19-year-old as a 'nice fit'.

Derby County should go after Tom Watson in the January transfer window

In recent weeks, manager Eustace has seemingly found success with his favoured 3-4-3 formation at Pride Park.

More often than not, Carlton Morris, Patrick Agyemang and Ben Brereton Diaz have made up the Rams' front three, though it has only really been Morris who has been hitting the back of the net consistently, with ten goals from 15 games putting him at the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Coventry City's Brandon Thomas-Asante.

Brereton Diaz, who joined on loan from Southampton in the summer, has scored just once without contributing an assist in ten appearances thus far, with all of those coming as starts.

Agyemang, on the other hand, who joined in a deal that could rise to £7.3 million from MLS side Charlotte, has hit the ground running since his switch to England, having two goals and three assists in 11 appearances, eight of those being starts.

Clearly, it is Chilean international Brereton Diaz who must start to pick up the slack sooner rather than later, otherwise his position in the side may come under threat.

Derby have Andreas Weimann, Corey Blackett-Taylor, and Rhian Brewster, who can all operate in that position, but Eustace may be tempted to delve back into the transfer market and potentially explore a loan deal for Watson.

Watson would provide a different option to what Eustace currently possesses in the squad, thriving in wide positions and adept at using either foot, with his flair making him an unpredictable opponent for defenders to deal with, as was shown with his time with Sunderland last season.

Tom Watson has found his minutes to be limited at Brighton and Hove Albion, and should make a Derby County switch

Brighton completed a deal this summer to sign Watson from Sunderland for a fee of around £10 million, but the England youth international has thus far found his game time to be limited on the South Coast.

Having played a small but ultimately pivotal role in Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League last season, latching on to a stray pass by Kieffer Moore against Sheffield United in the play-off final before firing beyond Michael Cooper in the Blades' goal, Watson has yet to really kick on with the Seagulls.

Watson has made just two Premier League appearances all season, accumulating just 40 minutes of top-flight football, but has made three appearances for the club in the League Cup, scoring once and assisting three times.

The Seagulls have an abundance of wide attacking talent vying for minutes at the Amex, with the likes of Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh, Brajan Gruda and Solly March all fighting for a place in Fabian Hurzeler's side along with Watson.

It may happen that the Englishman becomes available for loan this January, so he can go out and get more minutes and develop, and Derby could be the perfect fit for him to do just that.

Derby would be signing a player of enormous potential with a point to prove, and Watson would be provided the opportunity to stamp his authority on the second tier, so if a deal is possible this January, Eustace should do everything he can to get it done.