Nottingham Forest want Derby County star - John Eustace reacts | OneFootball

Rams manager Eustace has opened up on Jacob Widell Zetterstrom's future after links emerged last week to bitter rivals Forest

Derby County manager John Eustace has not dismissed speculation that has linked star goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom moving across the East Midlands to bitter rivals Nottingham Forest.

The Rams stopper has been in fine form in the 2025-26 Championship season, and he currently ranks second in the Goals Prevented stat for the entire division - only sitting behind Leicester City's Jakub Stolarczyk.

And his form for County led to a first appearance for the Sweden national team in two years, having first appeared under Janne Andersson's management in January 2023, but he was handed a start in November's international break by Graham Potter in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia.

John Eustace speaks out on Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Nottingham Forest transfer links

Fears are emerging though among the Derby fanbase, with transfer interest swirling in Zetterstrom since earlier in the year.

It was claimed by Alan Nixon late on in the summer transfer window that Brentford were plotting a swoop for the stopper, with a touted fee of £3.5 million as a presumed understudy to Caoimhin Kelleher, but nothing came of it.

A new transfer link emerged last week though, with Sky Sports reporting that Nottingham Forest are 'monitoring' Zetterstrom - and that is not what County supporters would want to see.

And for those that would want manager Eustace to come out and completely quash a potential switch to the City Ground for the goalkeeper, then look away, as he stopped short of saying that Zetterstrom will not be departing Pride Park in the upcoming January transfer window.

"I expect interest in a lot of the players," Eustace told the Derby Telegraph.

"They're all playing very well. Jacob's a good young goalkeeper and he's a player that we certainly don't want to lose.

"We've got him now playing for Sweden as well and the work that Paul Clements has done with him, Josh (Vickers) and Richard (O'Donnell) has been sensational really.

"We've got a really top goalkeeping coach at the club, and he's helping develop all the young goalkeepers and the old ones."

Derby County are set for a crossroads with Jacob Widell Zetterstrom - losing him to Nottingham Forest would be bitter

With Eustace also confirming that he's not sure where potential contract talks are with Zetterstrom and his representatives, the mid-season transfer market could be an important and nervy one for Derby.

Whilst the club aren't at the point where they need to cash in on the goalkeeper immediately, they will be running out of opportunities should he not commit his future to the club as soon as possible.

If Zetterstrom were to stay put and a new contract isn't signed by this time next year, he would go into January 2027 with the ability to speak to non-English clubs for a pre-contract agreement, and if he continues with his recent form, there would be no shortage of admirers across Europe - especially if Graham Potter continues to select him for Sweden.

Derby paid £1.4 million to Djurgardens for Zetterstrom in the summer of 2024, and it could be argued that he's at the peak of his current powers now aged 27, with goalkeepers tending to operate at a higher level for longer than outfielders, so his best years could still be ahead of him.

The Premier League therefore will be in Zetterstrom's sights, but the fee would need to be right - and the club may have to engage with a rival like Forest, even if a move would cause a bit of uproar.