How Derby County's Jacob Widell Zetterstrom reacted to Brentford transfer interest | OneFootball

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom was wanted by the Bees in the summer window

Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom has responded to previous transfer speculation linking him with a potential move to Premier League side, Brentford, over the course of the summer.

Speaking ahead of his latest round of international duty with Sweden, the Rams' first-choice goalkeeper has claimed that this is the first time he has been made aware of such developments, despite nearly three months of Championship action passing since the aforementioned rumours came to the fore with days of the transfer window remaining.

John Eustace's side have been in inspired form of late, with the 46-year-old masterminding five wins on the spin, which has made up for an initially sluggish start to his first full season at Pride Park as Derby accumulated just one sole victory within their opening 10 league encounters.

However, they headed into the current two-week international hiatus as the Championship's most in-form side, taking 15 points between the previous stoppage within the EFL schedule and now, defeating Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Hull City and most recently, marking Eustace's controversial return to Blackburn Rovers with a 2-1 success in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Many names within the DE24 camp have been the subject of high praise for their contributions in such a remarkable upsurge, mainly Carlton Morris, who now sits joint-top of the division's individual scoring charts with 10 goals thus far.

However, Rams supporters will be grateful to their Swedish international who continues to excel between the posts, although they may be slightly anxious based on Zetterstrom's aforementioned revelations.

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom issues positive response when learning of previous Derby County, Brentford transfer rumours

Zetterstrom has been one of many players with a Scandinavian background to recently find themselves at home in the East Midlands, with the likes of Sondre Langas and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen also following suit.

The imposing 6'6" figure was acquired from Allsvenskan outfit, Djurgarden, for approximately £1.4m following Derby's promotion-winning season from League One under Paul Warne, finally moving to English football for the first time after previous links with Premier League side, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Indeed, under the management of Gary O'Neil at the time, the West Midlands outfit identified Zetterstrom as an initial backup to the experienced Jose Sa, before being unable to land his signature, eventually moving to sign Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace instead.

Throughout his first Championship season under Warne and Eustace, Zetterstrom was integral to the Rams narrowly preserving their second-tier status on the final day, keeping nine clean sheets in 40 league games as his side boasted the second-best defence in the division's bottom-half.

Despite, once again, starting the season as Eustace's 'number one', Zetterstrom became the subject of speculation over a move to the Gtech Community Stadium for just £3.5m, with Keith Andrews hoping to source a backup keeper after the Bees acquired Republic of Ireland international, Caoimhin Kelleher, from Liverpool in a deal worth up to £18m.

The Derby keeper has kept three clean sheets so far this season, and with the Rams on the verge of the play-offs amid a strong run of form, he is preparing for international clashes against Switzerland and Slovenia.

However, in an interview with Fotbollskanalen, Zetterstrom states he was unaware of a potential top-flight move until now.

“It was a rumour that surprised me quite a bit. I hadn’t heard anything about it before, but if it’s true, it’s great to hear something like that. At the same time, I came to Derby a year ago and have only been focused on doing my job there,” he said.

Derby County will hope to deter January interest in Jacob Widell Zetterstrom

Such a revelation may make supporters feel on edge should Brentford, or another top-flight side, pursue Zetterstrom's signature in January.

However, the Swede is still under contract at Pride Park until 2027, meaning Derby still hold plenty of bargaining power, and they would almost certainly be demanding in excess of £3.5m, as was the previously reported figure.

Furthermore, whilst the riches of the Premier League are an obvious attraction, particularly with Brentford showing no ill-effects after the departure of Thomas Frank, Zetterstrom would be losing out on several first-team opportunities should he move to West London as a result of Kelleher's stature and strong collection of initial performances.