Derby County told to forget Dan Barlaser saga - "I'm really not bothered" | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on the deadline day links to Dan Barlaser

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 were linked with a deadline day move for Middlesbrough’s Dan Barlaser, but he instead made the move to Hibernian.

It was reported by Teesside Live that both the Rams and Millwall were considering an approach for the midfielder, who had fallen down the pecking order at the Riverside.

However, the Derbyshire outfit ultimately did not seek a move for the 28-year-old, who instead made the move across the border to Scottish football.

It was already a busy summer for Derby prior to deadline day, with the club bringing in a number of fresh faces in what was John Eustace’s first chance to shape the team to his liking after becoming manager last February.

Dan Barlaser to Derby County blow dismissed

When asked about the possibility of signing Barlaser, FLW’s Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward claimed it’s not a deal he feels the club have missed out on.

He believes that Eustace’s side have enough players in midfield, and that he’d have rather if a wide man was sought in the closing stages of the summer market.

“I’m really not bothered that we didn’t sign Barlaser,” Woodward told Football League World.

“We’ve got so many defensive midfielders right now in that squad, with [David] Ozoh, [Ebou] Adams, [Lewis] Travis, we’ve got [Liam] Thompson that can come in.

“To me, he doesn’t improve our starting XI, and we’ve got a lot of players that can come off the bench to support that midfield, if need be.

“So, to me, we didn’t need him.

“I’d have rather us gone and looked for a wide man, or a ball-playing centre-midfielder.

“So, we were linked with him, but I wasn’t fussed at all that we didn’t get him.”

Derby have made a slow start to the new Championship campaign, with the team sitting 21st in the table going into the September international break.

Eustace’s side will face West Brom away on 13 September next up, with the Rams seeking their first win of the new season.

Derby County will make do without Dan Barlaser

Barlaser never really settled into Middlesbrough as an important part of the squad, but his stint at Rotherham showed just what he can do at Championship level.

If he can return to that form, then perhaps he could’ve had a role to play at Derby this season if he’d made the switch.

However, Eustace already has a number of midfield options to choose from, and adding him on top of that may not have been worthwhile, as there’s only so much rotation a team can do in a given season.

If the Rams hadn’t been able to get the likes of Lewis Travis, David Ozoh or Bobby Clark through the door this summer, then maybe a move for Barlaser would’ve made more sense.