Derby County urged to offload 28-year-old by February 2nd - 'It’s a shame' | OneFootball

FLW's Rams Fan Pundit believes Ryan Nyambe could exit Pride Park this month

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 have been urged to let outcast right-back Ryan Nyambe depart Pride Park before the winter transfer window closes on February 2nd.

With head coach John Eustace having opened the door for potential departures this month, Nyambe appears to be an obvious candidate to exit, as he finds himself firmly out of favour under the former Blackburn Rovers manager.

That's according to FLW's Rams Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, who insists that the 28-year-old would benefit from a fresh start either on loan or at a new club.

Ryan Nyambe 'needs' to leave Derby County this January transfer window

Looking at his game time this season, Nyambe has only managed 262 minutes of league football and was last involved in a matchday squad on December 15th against Sheffield Wednesday - though he didn’t even feature in that encounter.

The Namibia international's last two appearances under Eustace were ten-minute cameos off the bench in November, against Middlesbrough and Swansea City respectively.

Woodward believes this is why the defender’s departure makes sense, telling FLW when asked which player should leave the club, "For me, the player that needs to go would be Ryan Nyambe.

"He’s been injured quite a lot over this season, and he hasn’t really featured in any matchday squads of late."

The Fan Pundit continued by explaining how Nyambe's style of play doesn't suit what Eustace wants from his full-backs/wing-backs. "He’s [Nyambe] a traditional full-back, very solid defensively, but he offers next to nothing going forward and in the formation we’re playing at the moment, in the 3-4-3, our full-backs/wing-backs are asked to do a lot more offensively, which isn’t his game," Woodward said.

In truth, the right-back’s limitations in the final third have been exposed repeatedly throughout his time in the East Midlands. Perhaps most notably by the unwanted record he broke in April last year when he became the first outfield player to make 202 Championship appearances without scoring.

To sum it up, that milestone moment ended in injury - with Nyambe being forced off just four minutes into Derby's match against Preston after suffering a hamstring issue. But it's worth noting that his contract doesn't expire until the end of 26/27, so effectively the ex-Wigan Athletic man is still under contract at Derby for another full season after this one.

Why Ryan Nyambe is 'not needed' under John Eustace Derby County

Woodward stressed, "So, unless we’re going to change the formation to suit him [Nyambe], then he’s probably not needed. It’s a shame because he’s a solid pro but times change and things move forward, and unfortunately, he doesn’t look like he’s going to be part of Eustace’s plans.

If anything is clear at Derby, it’s that the defensive hierarchy is well established - and Nyambe has slipped further down the pecking order as the season has progressed.

Every Rams fan knows that Joe Ward has emerged as a revelation in Eustace's system, recording six goal contributions in 18 appearances after breaking into the starting XI due to Max Johnston’s injury.

Scottish international Johnston is still yet to make his return to action from said injury, but given the fact that he signed for around £3.5m last summer, it’s pretty obvious the right-hand side of defence is locked down with these two.

Yes, Nyambe can play centre-back when called upon, but the club are already well-stocked in that department - even if Curtis Nelson also departs as expected. So, it's evidently clear that Nyambe is surplus to requirements across the board.

Woodward concluded by saying, "I think for him, for his career, he needs to be going and getting game time. So, I think he needs to go out and get some game time, either on loan or at a new club and get some minutes under his belt."

All in all, Nyambe leaving Derby would free up resources - both in terms of wages and squad space, whilst allowing the player to seek consistent playing time elsewhere. However, he could just be content with picking up a wage for another year and a half without playing.