Derby County must beat Swansea City in fresh Aston Villa transfer race | OneFootball

The Rams are in desperate need of a new centre-back, and the Premier League side may just have the perfect player for them.

Derby County's early season momentum has taken a huge hit over the course of the last few weeks, and injuries have started to hit hard.

Curtis Nelson's knee ligament injury has thrown Paul Warne's January plans up in the air, and he has had to quickly rework his focus onto bringing in a new centre-back with options now limited in the position.

Nat Phillips is also out with an injury, but this looks to be more of a short-term issue, and he should be back in the squad before the end of the month, while Eiran Cashin is coming back to full fitness after a hamstring problem.

Derby are in desperate need of reinforcements with the threat of relegation now looming strongly overhead, and beating Swansea City to the signing of an Aston Villa 21-year-old could be a perfect way to help in that fight.

Lamare Bogarde could be a great signing for Derby

Lamare Bogarde has impressed Unai Emery so far this season, and he has four Premier League appearances to his name as well as one in the Champions League, but it is clear he still needs more development.

He spent 2023 on loan at Bristol Rovers in League One in two different spells across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, and he is now ready for the step-up to the Championship.

With Derby now desperate for a centre-back, Aston Villa will see the Rams as the perfect destination for Bogarde as he will get a decent amount of game time, and he will improve alongside the likes of Cashin and Phillips.

But, Warne will have to beat Swansea to the signature of the 21-year-old, with Luke Williams also keen on a move for the defender, as per Darren Witcoop.

There is just over a week-and-a-half left in the transfer window, meaning that there is time for the Rams to work on a deal with the Premier League side, and with seven days between their next two matches, they have ample opportunity to work with Villa.

Warne is looking at multiple targets for his defence

Improving the defence was not originally what Warne had endeavoured to do this month, but the Rams' situation has come about quickly, and they have gone from having three fit centre-backs to one in the space of a week.

The 51-year-old has told BBC Radio Derby that he is in the midst of the search for one before the 3 February deadline, with experience being one of the key factors that he is looking at.

However, with the competitiveness of the transfer market, he may find this difficult and Bogarde could be an excellent choice as Aston Villa will want to see him get game time.

Cashin and Phillips will be Derby's first choice centre-backs for the rest of the season, but making sure they have adequate cover is incredibly important given the Rams' current league position.

Bogarde will be able to provide this for them, and he will only help as the East Midlands outfit battle for their Championship status.