Derby County told £1m fee for Birmingham City transfer is too much | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has shared his thoughts on the possible signing of Birmingham City defender Dion Sanderson.

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 head coach John Eustace is reportedly eyeing a reunion with Birmingham City defender Dion Sanderson at Pride Park.

After two previous loan spells at the club, Eustace was in charge of Birmingham when they signed Sanderson from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a permanent basis in July 2023, and he immediately handed him the captain's armband.

Sanderson fell out of favour under Chris Davies in League One last season, and after making just seven appearances for the Blues in the first half of the campaign, he teamed up with Eustace again as he joined Blackburn Rovers on loan in January.

The pair did not get to work together for too long at Ewood Park as Eustace made the move to Derby the following month, and he found his game time limited after the arrival of Valerien Ismael, making just a handful of appearances as Rovers narrowly missed out on the play-offs.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Eustace is looking to sign Sanderson for a third time this summer, and he is willing to meet Birmingham's £1 million valuation, but the 25-year-old is not the only defender under consideration by the Rams, with Craig Dawson and Danny Batth also on their list of targets.

Derby County doubts outlined over potential Dion Sanderson, Birmingham City swoop

When asked for his thoughts on the potential arrival of Sanderson, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward admitted that he believes £1 million would be too much to pay for a player who is yet to fully prove himself at Championship level, but he insisted he would trust Eustace if he went ahead with the signing of the defender.

"Sanderson is one of those players that I'm not surprised to see us linked with," Shaun told FLW.

"He's played for John Eustace at Birmingham and Blackburn, and he made him his captain as well, so he clearly rates the lad and sees the potential in him that maybe other managers haven't.

"From what I understand from some of the fans of other clubs he's been at, they haven't rated him, and they say there's a big mistake in him as he can switch off at times.

"He's not the most technically gifted player, but he's a good age, he's tall and physical and someone John Eustace really does like.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see us sign him, but he's not someone I'm not particularly excited about us getting.

"We are on the look out for a centre-half, so I'll reserve judgement until I see him play for us, and if John Eustace thinks he's good enough, then I accept that.

"I would add that I think £1 million is too much for a player who didn't get in the Birmingham side last season in League One.

"He barely played a game last season, he only played 19 games in the whole of last season.

"He left Birmingham after only a couple of appearances, so they either didn't think he was good enough or he just wasn't getting in the side and needed to go out on loan.

"Either way, I think £1 million for a player who is an average fringe player at best in the Championship is a lot of money."

Derby County should prioritise Craig Dawson and Danny Batth over Dion Sanderson

With Curtis Nelson and Sondre Langas potentially set to miss the start of next season with injury and uncertainty over whether the club will be able to re-sign Nat Phillips from Liverpool, strengthening at centre-back is one of the main priorities for Derby this summer.

Eustace is known to be a big admirer of Sanderson, but it is a cause for concern that he was unable to break into the starting line-up at both Birmingham and Blackburn last season, and £1 million would be too much for the Rams to spend on him, particularly as it would take up a large portion of their summer transfer budget.

While Dawson and Batth are both in the latter stages of their careers, they are much more reliable defenders and would bring experience and leadership to the Derby dressing room, so Eustace should focus his energy on signing one of them instead of Sanderson.