Derby County urged to strike Liverpool transfer - 'we're getting completely destroyed' in midfield | OneFootball

James McConnell has spent the season on loan at Ajax, but with minutes limited, FLW's Derby County Fan Pundit wants to see him at Pride Park.

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 had a topsy-turvy few weeks in the Championship, and while victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough over the last month have kept them in mid-table, inconsistencies remain.

The Rams were beaten 2-1 by Wrexham on Sunday afternoon, with Matty James' stunning strike for the away side securing his side all three points at a freezing Pride Park.

Derby have won just one of their last seven home matches and John Eustace must now take to the transfer market to find the new faces he needs to ensure that his team are not sucked into a relegation battle just like they were last season.

Finding fixes for the midfield is a priority for the 46-year-old, with Oscar Fraulo the newest face to come through the door in DE24, but he is not the only young midfielder who the Rams have their eyes on.

Derby County urged to secure deal for Liverpool's James McConnell

James McConnell spent the first-half of the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Dutch giants Ajax from Liverpool, but he struggled to earn a place in the team on a consistent basis and the midfielder has returned to Anfield.

While he is currently sidelined with an injury, the Premier League champions may well be looking to find him a new destination to spend the remainder of the season, with Derby one of three Championship teams interested, according to The Daily Mail.

Football League World has asked their Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, if he believes McConnell would be a good fit for the Rams.

He said: "It's clear we need reinforcements in the middle because Ozoh just can't stay fit, and we don't know how long it's going to be before he's back. Then it's going to take him a while to get match fit again, if he does ever get match fit, because he's always out injured, which is a huge loss to us.

"Lewis Travis, again, he's another one. He's been out with an injury and is slowly coming back, but he's probably not ready to be playing 90 minutes every week, and we look really, really weak in the middle.

"As good as Bobby Clark is on the ball, he's lightweight, and Thompson, again, is a small central midfielder that lacks that real power in there. So, I think when you're only playing the two in there like we have been, to play two very small lightweight midfielders, we are getting overrun."

Shaun continued: "I think that's been our biggest problem of late. We're making silly mistakes at the back, but in central midfield, we're getting completely destroyed. For whatever reason, he won't play Ebou Adams there either in a three or to replace Thompson. So, it looks like he could be off as well.

"We are lightweight in the middle. James McConnell, he's not really had many games in his career so far so he's a bit of an unknown. He's obviously got calibre. He's been at Liverpool and out at Ajax. So, he has played at the top level, albeit only a handful of games.

"He’s a similar mould, I'd say, to Clark in that he's quite small. But if Eustace thinks that he could come in and improve us, then I'm all for it. It's definitely an area we need to improve quickly because, although at the moment, we're comfortable in mid-table, it doesn't take many games to start looking over your shoulder. I think it's an area to pitch we really do need to improve on massively and quickly."

James McConnell's lack of experience will be a concern for Derby County fans

Travis featured for the first time at Pride Park since October on Sunday, as the 28-year-old played the final 30 minutes of his side's defeat to Wrexham as Eustace looked for an equaliser.

However, as mentioned by Shaun, the Rams are light in midfield when Bobby Clark and Liam Thompson are paired together and adding McConnell to that mix may cause more problems with Derby already having similar players at the club.

The 21-year-old has just 20 senior appearances to his name in all competitions, with only seven of those coming during his loan spell at Ajax, and this lack of experience will be a sticking point for Eustace. However, he may well have the creativity to help unlock defences - something that the Rams are lacking currently.

With over three weeks to go in the January transfer window, there is plenty of time for Derby to find the right fit for their midfield.