Derby County trio 'need to move on' as John Eustace decision looms | OneFootball

The Rams have been told to sanction three exits this summer.

After last season's heroics, expectations will be understandably higher at Derby County heading into the new Championship season.

Having narrowly avoided relegation the previous campaign, John Eustace led the Rams to an eighth-placed finish, missing out on the play-offs in the final game against Sheffield United.

To replicate that form again would be quite something given the vast quality in the second tier next term, and they will need a stronger squad to mount a serious challenge.

As well as incomings, the East Midlands outfit must ensure they get rid of players not up to scratch, and there are three players who could be heading out the exit doors.

Derby County told to sanction Corey Blackett-Taylor, Ryan Nyambe and Kenzo Goudmijn exits

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Corey Blackett-Taylor, Ryan Nyambe and Kenzo Goudmijn all endured forgettable seasons at Pride Park for several reasons, and it has been reported by Derbyshire Live that the Rams would listen to offers for all of them.

Blackett-Taylor made just nine Championship appearances, suffering a hamstring injury at the start of the campaign before joining League One side Bolton Wanderers, where he played a part in their promotion before tearing a thigh muscle and missing the final 12 games.

As for Nyambe, he made just seven appearances for Eustace's side before being sent on loan to third-tier Reading, where he became a regular starter, making 19 appearances.

Goudmijn played just three times in the Championship before being sent out on loan to Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles, and while he was regularly utilised at the start of the season, he hardly featured in the final three months of the campaign.

When asked if it was the right decision all round for his club to listen to offers for the trio, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward delivered a resounding response.

"I'd be very surprised to see any of that trio at Derby come the start of the season," he told Football League World.

"I think all three of them need to move on for their own careers, and we need to be looking to bring in bigger and better players."

Why should Derby cast aside unfavoured trio?

The fact that all three players left Pride Park on loan at differing parts of the season tells you everything you need to know, but how did they get to this point?

Goudmijn signed for the Rams in the summer of 2024 and made 44 appearances in all competitions during his first season for the club before being loaned out.

"Kenzo never really hit the heights we thought he would," Shaun continued.

"Technically, he's a good player, but he's just not up to the demands of the Championship. He really struggled with his physicality and the speed of the game. He got caught out.

"It's a sensible thing for him to probably go back to his homeland [Netherlands] or to a league that's less about physicality and intensity because there is a player there, but he's not suited to the English game."

Blackett-Taylor also joined Derby in the summer of 2024 following a loan from Charlton Athletic but has struggled for regular football.

"He's a League One player," said Shaun. "His injury record is horrific. His end product is also really poor. Yes, there's a player there again; he's got bags of potential, but we need more than that now. We need an end product, and he's just not at the Championship level that we need moving forward.

"He's been a frustrating player because there were signs at times that he was going to become a player we wanted, but never really hit those heights, and he needs to move on."

Nyambe was picked up by the Rams on a free transfer the summer before his aforementioned teammates and has made 47 appearances for the club across the Championship and League One.

"He's a solid player, but we need more from the right-back," said Shaun. "He's not really a threat going forward, whilst he's probably a better defender than Joe Ward.

"His actual all-round game is poor, and we've got Johnson, we've got Ward, we don't really need him, and he's probably a League One player I'd say now."