New Derby County, Sammie Szmodics update dropped by Gary O'Neil as initial £2m deal nears | OneFootball

The Ipswich Town boss thinks that Sammie Szmodics will be on the move this summer

Derby County's eighth-placed finish last season was definitely unexpected, as the Rams came on leaps and bounds in their first full campaign under John Eustace.

While no one was tipping Derby to be involved in a relegation battle once again now that the former Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers head coach had a full summer to prepare, a play-off push was seen as ambitious this time last year.

However, Eustace led his side to within 90 minutes of finishing in the top six, and actually occupied sixth momentarily on the final day. Eighth will be enough this year to partake in the revamped play-offs, so maintaining, or even bettering that, will be the goal at Pride Park.

Derby County want to bring Sammie Szmodics back to Pride Park this summer

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Derby played the loan market to perfection last season, with the likes of Bobby Clark, David Ozoh and Ben Brereton Diaz making big contributions throughout the year, and Jaydon Banel and Sammie Szmodics arriving in January to help improve their play-off hopes.

The latter is someone the Rams head coach knows well, as Szmodics was his talisman in his first half-season at Blackburn, and both Eustace and the Irish attacking midfielder were key to Rovers losing just four of their final 17 games and remaining in the Championship that year.

Their working relationship was short-lived, though, as Ipswich Town brought Szmodics to the Premier League two summers ago for up to £11 million. 18 months later, the two were reunited at Derby after the 30-year-old had struggled to make any inroads into the Ipswich fold.

Szmodics netted three times in 13 games during his loan spell at Pride Park, and John Eustace outlined towards the end of the campaign that he wanted to keep him at Derby, feeling he could get even better with a full year at Pride Park.

Gary O'Neil reveals crucial Sammie Szmodics transfer hint amidst Derby County interest

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With two years remaining on his Ipswich deal, and with the Tractor Boys not wanting to make too much of a loss on the 30-year-old, Derby were always going to have to foot a decent seven-figure bid to sign him.

The Portman Road-based side have set their value at a little more than £4 million, and the Rams have been working on getting a deal over the line for over a week now.

Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil has recently hinted that a move will likely be on the cards for Szmodics this summer, though. The Irishman has yet to feature in pre-season for the Tractor Boys, and while that could be down to injury, it could also be due to his impending departure.

"I can see something happening with Szmods [Szmodics]," O'Neil said. "He's been a fantastic servant for the club, top guy, but there have been a few bits going on.

"He has a bit of a sore knee, but I can see in the next few days that potentially Szmods will move."

Ipswich side TWTD have reported that Derby are looking to pay an initial £2 million that would rise to £4 million, but other Championship clubs have expressed interest in the 30-year-old, too.

Sammie Szmodics would be a statement of intent for Derby County in the play-off race

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Derby are looking to secure an investment deal with billionaire Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh as soon as next week, which would give the Rams a massive cash injection, per the Telegraph.

Although it's expected that John Eustace's side will be hoping to bring in Szmodics regardless, as the 30-year-old could provide a massive boost to Derby's hopes of landing in the top eight next season.

The Rams boss seems to know how to get the best out of the Irish attacking midfielder, and given he started every league game he was available for at Pride Park during his loan spell last season, Szmodics evidently has an admirer in Eustace.

If John Eustace can coach the 30-year-old to register even half of his attacking threat during that 2023/24 campaign, Derby will still have an attacking midfielder who could end the campaign with around 12–15 goals, which would give them a massive boost over their fellow play-off hopefuls.

According to Gary O'Neil, it seems that the 2023/24 Championship Golden Boot winner will be on his way out of Portman Road this summer, and the Rams will want to be right at the front of the queue to bring him in.