Lewis Travis and Ebou Adams 'problem' raised at Derby County - John Eustace must fix | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on midfielder Lewis Travis' start to life 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...

After an underwhelming start to the season, it has been a much-improved few weeks for Derby County in the Championship.

Derby were widely tipped to be one of the dark horses in the second tier this season after some eye-catching summer transfer business, but they made a poor start to the campaign as they won just one of their first 10 league games.

However, the Rams picked up back-to-back 1-0 home victories over Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers last week to kickstart their season, and while they are still just five points clear of the relegation zone, they are also only the same distance away from the play-off places in what remains an incredibly tight league.

Derby may be starting to find their form after a slow start, but one player whose Pride Park career is yet to take off is midfielder Lewis Travis, who made the move from Blackburn Rovers in a deal that could be worth more than £3 million in August following a lengthy transfer saga.

Travis was one of five players who had worked with Eustace at one of his previous clubs to join the Rams this summer, and shortly after his arrival, he was handed the captain's armband, with the Rams head coach describing him as a "natural leader".

After starting six consecutive games for Derby following his summer switch, Travis has missed the last three matches with a calf injury that is expected to keep him out of action for six weeks, meaning he is unlikely to be available before the start of December at the earliest.

Derby County fan pundit offers Lewis Travis backing amid Ebou Adams dilemma

Derby won just one of the six games in which Travis featured before he sustained his injury, but they have secured victory in two of the three matches they have played since without the 28-year-old, which has led to some debate among the Rams faithful about whether he should regain his place in the team when he returns to fitness.

However, when asked if Travis should be seen as more of a rotation option rather than a guaranteed starter, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward insisted he should remain one of the first names on the team sheet, and he instead claimed that Eustace must find a way of playing him and former captain Ebou Adams together.

"Personally, I like Travis," Shaun told FLW.

"Anyone who has played football will watch him and know what he's doing on that pitch.

"He's a leader and helps others around him, it's not about him.

"He's someone who is going to take charge out there.

"He's an experienced Championship player, Eustace knows him well and trusts him, and I think most clubs in the Championship would like a player like Travis in the middle.

"Yes, he's not going to stand out with scoring worldies every week or splitting defences, but that's not his job.

"His job is to be out there and do the dirty side of football, a bit like John Eustace did himself, and I think most teams need someone like that in there.

"The problem is we've had Travis and Adams both trying to do the same role at the same time, which doesn't help because they don't compliment each other.

"I think if you stick Travis next to someone who is going to be the ball player, you would see the best of him.

"I know other teams won't want to see him on the team sheet because you know you're in for a really tough afternoon.

"He's got the dark arts down to a tee, he winds people up, and he gets people thinking about him, rather than his own game.

"He's someone that I do genuinely believe has got a good future at Derby, so I'm not buying into the fact that he hasn't had the best start because, when he came in, we were struggling.

"If he comes back into the side after his injury and we've started to pick up form, I think he'll thrive.

"I just believe that we're better with him in the team than without him, as long as you can get the right players around him."

John Eustace facing big Lewis Travis, Ebou Adams dilemma at Derby County

Given that Eustace handed Travis the captaincy immediately after his arrival at Derby, it seems almost certain that he will come straight back into the starting line-up when he returns from injury.

If, as expected, Travis is restored to the team, that will give Eustace a big decision to make over whether to play him alongside Adams, who has become a firm fan favourite at Pride Park over the past two years, or partner him with the likes of David Ozoh, Liam Thompson or Bobby Clark.

As Travis and Adams perform similar roles in the team, it could be argued that Eustace does not need to use both of them at the same time, but dropping Adams would be a big call that may not go down particularly well with the Rams faithful.