Derby County backed to seal Sheffield Wednesday transfer - 'It would make sense' | OneFootball

FLW's Rams Fan Pundit has his say on Max Lowe potentially coming back to Pride Park this summer

Derby County could bring back one of their former academy graduates this summer, with the player out of contract at Sheffield Wednesday.

Said player is 29-year-old Max Lowe, who now primarily plays at centre-back, but Derby know him as a left-back. He first left Pride Park in 2020, joining Sheffield United alongside fellow Rams full-back Jayden Bogle in a double deal.

Yet Blades apparently didn’t pay the reported £12m fee, with The Star claiming the real amount was around £5m less, working out at £3.5m for each defender.

Aside from playing for both Steel City clubs so far in his career, Lowe also spent one season on loan at Derby's East Midlands rivals, Nottingham Forest.

Despite this, the Rams have now been backed to complete the signing ahead of the 26/27 Championship campaign.

Derby County backed to seal Sheffield Wednesday transfer

In a fresh update from The Star, Derby are reportedly interested in signing Max Lowe from Sheffield Wednesday, yet Leicester City and Middlesbrough have also been named in the same report.

It is claimed the Foxes have already made their interest 'known' to Wednesday, whereas Boro are apparently waiting to see what comes of their play-off push, as Premier League football would change things for them.

With this in mind, FLW's Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, thinks Lowe playing under John Eustace next season 'would make sense'.

Woodward said, "To be honest, I wouldn’t mind this move, it would make sense because he could be a solid back-up to [Derry] Murkin and if we keep [Callum] Elder as well.

"It gives us options because Murkin’s been injured, Elder’s injury record isn’t great either, and Fozzy [Craig Forsyth], I can’t imagine him going on another season."

In truth, perhaps the biggest factor with this is whether Derby will extend Callum Elder's contract or not. The Australian last played in February, with it being confirmed in March he underwent knee surgery.

Prior to the February arrival of Murkin, Elder was enjoying his most productive spell as a Ram, and ended up finishing the season with one goal and six assists. Lowe

Woodward added, "At the moment we just have three left-backs that are all slightly injury prone or ageing, each one has their own concerns, so Max Lowe would make sense because it is probably an area we need to strengthen."

However, even the reported interest in Lowe could imply Derby won’t renew Elder’s contract, as you can't imagine Eustace would want four left-backs. As for Forsyth, well, he's still under contract at Derby until after his 38th birthday, as he signed a two-year extension last year.

How Derby County fans feel about signing Max Lowe from Sheffield Wednesday

Although Woodward is in favour of the aforementioned transfer, concluding with, "He’s [Lowe] still a good age at 29, he’s played for the club before so he could settle in relatively quickly. I think he would be a good back-up option to Murkin," a lot of Derby fans are in disagreement.

Two Rams supporters joked that they'd only want Lowe to re-sign if he took on some cleaning duties...

Another wrote, "The same Max Lowe that jumped ship….nah is [i'd] rather keep Fozzy for another 10 year deal."

Despite this, one Derby fan simply wrote "Decent back up." So, Woodward isn't the only one who sees some logic in the prospective move.

It remains to be seen what Max Lowe's actual thoughts are on a return to Pride Park, but it's fair to say the feelings are mixed at Derby.