Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit reacts to Derby County transfer "gamble" | OneFootball

Pundit Lee Hendrie believes the Rams have taken a gamble on signing Patrick Agyemang for a £5.8m fee.

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has admitted Derby County have taken a “gamble” in recruiting forward Patrick Agyemang to Pride Park.

The American has linked up with John Eustace’s men for a reported fee of £5.8 million from Charlotte FC, where he scored 22 goals in 72 appearances.

Derby have also recruited the likes of Carlton Morris and Andi Weimann to bolster the forward line too, as Eustace aims to get the Rams fighting towards the top end of the Championship table.

Derby have already brought in five players to Pride Park this summer, with Richard O’Donnell and Danny Batth also linking up with the squad.

It’s a sizeable investment at Championship level for Derby to bring in Agyemang, who embarks on his first spell in English football and will be expected to hit the ground running to reward that kind of price tag.

With the 24-year-old now officially announced as a Derby player, pundit Lee Hendrie has commented on whether the new arrival can make an early impact.

Lee Hendrie admits Derby County, Patrick Agyemang signing is a “gamble”

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie believes Derby County have taken a “gamble” by bringing Patrick Agyemang to Pride Park, but it could be worth making to help the club compete for promotion back to the Premier League.

Hendrie said: “I think most of these players that you don’t know an awful lot about can always be a gamble, but these days, you look at recruitment and the way they go about bringing players in to a football club. Derby will have done all their work on what he can do and bring to the side.

“With £5.8 million, we’re not talking about stupid money, but if you’re spending that kind of money, then you’re going to want a return on bringing a player in.

“I think this is where we are at the moment in football is that figure for a centre-forward is not ridiculously bad, but for Championship clubs striving to go forward, do you really have to go and gamble? I think you do and, no matter what way you look at it, it’s going to be a gamble.

"Is he going to fit in straight away? That’s the question. Can he find his feet straight away? That’s the other question, but I think this is the way football is going at the moment.

“There could be a potential star in there, and that’s the gamble you have to take.”

Derby County will be sweating over Patrick Agyemang impact

Although Patrick Agyemang is a long-term investment by signing a four-year contract, Derby will be hoping that he can get on the goal-scoring trail quickly at Pride Park to help immediately reward the investment.

The 24-year-old certainly has the attributes to be a force in the second-tier, with his big stature a quality he can use to his advantage, although he will have to adapt to the rise in physicality and intensity of the Championship.

There will be pressure on his shoulders as excitement builds around his arrival, but the additions of more experienced second-tier frontmen in Carlton Morris and Andi Weimann could help him settle in and know what to expect from the division.

As Hendrie alluded to, the Derby recruitment team will have done their due diligence and believe the striker has the potential to thrive at this level.