Derby County told to make signing to "capture the imagination" amid Lewis Travis, Isaac Hayden question | OneFootball

The Rams have found a cheaper alternative amid their Lewis Travis pursuit

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 are reportedly interested in former Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden.

The interest was exclusively revealed by Football League World, with QPR also in the frame.

Hayden is available as a free transfer after his contract was terminated with a year left to run, and would offer a cheaper alternative to Blackburn Rovers’ Lewis Travis, who the Rams are also said to be pursuing.

We asked our Derby fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, whether he’d be disappointed in getting Hayden as a way of saving money on Travis.

Derby must go all out for Travis

Speaking to Football League World, Shaun said: “I'd rather us get [Lewis] Travis.

“I think the guy said he wants to come to Derby. I think we just need to stop faffing around and get it done now.

“Whatever's going on behind the scenes just needs to be sorted. If we can't get Travis, then we do need to move on.

“I'd rather get Travis than [Isaac] Hayden, but if that isn't a goer, then Hayden wouldn't be a bad replacement.

“The worry for me is he's three years older. He's barely played in the last couple of seasons. I mean, that might work in his favour, he's quite fresh.

“But again, he's just not had that 30-40 games a season in his legs that I think we need, because a lot of these players we've brought in have been injury prone or fitness concerns and maybe Hayden's another one that, you just don't know whether he's going to be able to cope with the three games a week of the Championship.

“So, it's a worry for me, especially as someone who's 30 years old. Whereas Travis, we'd have got a good three years out of him before we start to look at other options.

“So yeah, I would be slightly disappointed and frustrated if we don't get Travis now after all that's happened.

“But Hayden is an experienced player. He's played over 100 games in the Premier League, albeit he’s not played much in the last couple of seasons.

“But yeah, I would like us to get Travis, and if not, then Hayden isn't a bad option. I just don't think he's going to capture the imagination like Travis would have done.”

Travis undoubtedly the more attractive option

As Shaun outlines, Hayden is clearly a quality player and brings bags of Premier League experience with 118 outings on his CV, but he hasn’t reached more than 25 league games in a single season for one club since the 2019/20 season.

Compare that to Travis, who captains Blackburn, wants to reunite with John Eustace and has clocked 38 or more games in three of the last four seasons.

Derby reportedly want £1.5m, so it will not be cheap, but Travis can supply another three years of football before he reaches the age Hayden is now.