What John Eustace has said about Derby County signing Lewis Travis from Blackburn Rovers | OneFootball

Derby County head coach John Eustace has spoken out about the club's pursuit of Blackburn Rovers midfielder Lewis Travis.

Derby County head coach John Eustace has refused to comment on speculation linking the club with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Lewis Travis.

Eustace worked with Travis during his time as Blackburn manager, and he is keen to reunite with him at Pride Park this summer, but Derby have had two bids rejected by the Lancashire outfit, the latest of which was believed to be worth £1.5 million plus bonuses.

Travis has now entered the last year of his contract at Ewood Park, and Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael revealed on Tuesday night that the 27-year-old has asked to leave the club, despite being offered what the Frenchman described as a "big" new contract.

While Blackburn have attempted to tie Travis down to a new deal, the Lancashire Telegraph claim that he has been made a "life-changing" offer by Derby, and he is also said to be keen for the club to receive a transfer fee for his services, rather than departing for free at the end of his contract next summer.

It is unclear exactly how much Rovers are demanding for Travis, who has scored eight goals and provided 12 assists in 264 appearances for the club, but it has been reported that they could use the fee they received from Middlesbrough for defender Callum Brittain as a benchmark, which is thought to be around £3.5 million.

John Eustace speaks out on Lewis Travis, Derby County speculation

Despite the fact his side were sitting in the Championship play-off places at the time, Eustace left his role at Blackburn to take over at Derby in February, and he has raided his former club on a number of occasions this summer.

The Rams signed defender Danny Batth and forward Andreas Weimann after their contracts at Ewood Park expired, while he has brought in two of Rovers' former loanees in Dion Sanderson and Owen Beck, while he was also keen on Brittain before his move to Middlesbrough.

Travis is the latest Blackburn player that Eustace has set his sights on, but amid increasing speculation over the midfielder's future, the 45-year-old refused to be drawn on reports linking him with Derby.

When asked if there were any fresh updates on the situation, Eustace told Derbyshire Live: "No, nothing. Ultimately, I don't really like to talk about any of the players who are contracted with other clubs.

"There are a number of players that we've looked at and made bids for, so until anything's accepted then we can't do much about that."

"I enjoyed my time working with all the players there - it was a fantastic group of players to work with," Eustace added.

"He was no different to any of the other players. They're all good lads there."

Blackburn Rovers facing big Lewis Travis dilemma as Derby County circle

Having lost Eustace and a number of players to Derby in recent months, Blackburn may understandably be reluctant to do any further business with the Rams, particularly as the deal would involve selling their captain.

However, as Travis has made it clear he is keen to leave, it is difficult to see a way back for him at Ewood Park, and given that they have often failed to secure transfer fees for key players in recent years, it would make sense for Rovers to cash in on the midfielder this summer rather than losing him for free at the end of his contract.

Wrexham and Coventry City were said to have enquired about Travis earlier in the summer, but as things stand, it appears Derby are the only club still at the table, which gives Blackburn a big decision to make.