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FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his thoughts on the potential signing of Wolves defender Craig Dawson.

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...

Derby County are reportedly keen to sign defender Craig Dawson on a free transfer once his contract with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers expires this summer.

That's according to The Sun, who claim that Dawson is on Derby's list of summer transfer targets, and the East Midlands outfit will face competition for the 35-year-old from ambitious newly-promoted side Wrexham.

However, Dawson is not the only centre-back on the Rams' radar this summer, with head coach John Eustace also eyeing a reunion with Blackburn Rovers defender Danny Batth after working with him previously at Ewood Park, as exclusively revealed by FLW earlier this month.

Dawson joined Wolves from West Ham United in January 2023 for a fee of £3.3 million, and he was a regular for much of his first two years at Molineux, including making 16 appearances in the first half of this season, but he fell out of favour after the arrival of new manager Vitor Pereira in December.

After being left out of the 25-man squad list by Pereira, there was speculation that Wolves were in talks to cancel Dawson's contract in February, but while no agreement was reached on that occasion, he will be leaving the club when his deal runs out this summer, with Derby and Wrexham set to do battle for his signature.

Derby County urged to pursue Craig Dawson move ahead of Wolves exit

When asked for his thoughts on the potential signing of Dawson, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward admitted that while Eustace needs to lower the age of the squad this summer, the experienced defender could be a useful addition for the Rams - but only if Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips doesn't return to Pride Park on a permanent basis.

"If I'm totally honest, I would like us to be signing players in their 20s, or at the very worst, early 30s because our squad is quite an old squad," Shaun told FLW.

"However, if Craig Dawson is on the market, and we can't bring in Nat Phillips, then I think he would be a very good signing at this level.

"He's played the majority of his career in the Premier League, I think he's played over 300 games in the Premier League, so he's got bags of experience.

"He could really help some of the younger lads in our squad.

"If we can get legs around him, it would be an excellent signing.

"I'm just starting to think that, long-term, we need to be bringing in some younger players for the future, we can't just be relying on players for one season.

"However, saying that, I would be more than happy if we did get someone like Craig Dawson because he's had a good career and could bring a lot of experience and calmness to the team, especially if Curtis Nelson and Sondre Langas are not going to be back for a while and we don't get Phillips.

"I think he would be a very shrewd signing."

Derby County may need to prepare for Craig Dawson disappointment amid Wrexham interest

As Shaun says, Derby do need to bring in a few younger players this summer to help balance out what is a relatively old squad, but it would be difficult to turn down a player of Dawson's experience.

With both Nelson and Langas potentially set to miss the start of next season through injury, the Rams will need to bolster their centre-back options over the coming months, so Dawson would be a welcome addition, but should Eustace continue his pursuit of Batth, he could risk missing out on the Wolves man to Wrexham.

However, even if the Rams were to prioritise a move for Dawson, there is still no guarantee they would be able to beat the Red Dragons to his signature as the Welsh side are reportedly set to be one of the biggest spenders outside the Premier League this summer, and would likely be able to offer him a more lucrative contract.