Derby County have Jaydon Banel void - this Brighton winger can solve it | OneFootball

Derby should consider making a loan swoop for Brighton's Ibrahim Osman this summer after Jaydon Banel's return is cast in doubt

Derby County are set for another year of Championship football, and despite narrowly missing out on a place in the play-offs by the skin of their teeth in the campaign just gone, spirits surrounding Pride Park will be sky high.

Heading into the final day of the Championship season, Derby stood a chance of breaking into the top six.

A win at home against Sheffield United was required, whilst John Eustace's side needed both Hull City and Wrexham to drop points in their games against Norwich City and Middlesbrough, respectively.

Wrexham indeed dropped points, but Hull's victory over Norwich meant that even if Derby were victorious against the Blades, they'd have missed out regardless, but a 2-1 home defeat meant that their season, albeit an improvement from last time around, ended in disappointment.

Eustace will be keen to get stuck into the summer transfer window once more with the Rams, and will be aiming to go one better next time around, but will have to find an alternative to one of their loan stars, who now looks set to remain with his current club for the upcoming campaign.

Derby County should plot a move for Brighton and Hove Albion's Ibrahim Osman this summer amid Jaydon Banel's Burnley update

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Derby successfully utilised the loan market better than almost any team in the Championship in the season just gone, with each of Ben Brereton Diaz, David Ozoh, Bobby Clark, and Jaydon Banel all joining the Rams on loan and having a positive impact.

Banel, in particular, joined on loan in the January window from Premier League side Burnley and scored three times in 14 appearances during his short stay at Pride Park, and progressively grew in confidence as the season progressed, with strikes against each of Stoke City, Oxford United, and Queens Park Rangers in the final six games of the campaign.

Eustace has stated his desire to bring back the majority of his loan stars this summer, saying: "Obviously I've spoken to all the players. They love playing for Derby, they love being here.

"From that point of view, I think they'd all love to stay but everything else is out of my hands."

However, it now looks as though Banel's chances of making a return to Derby are slim to none. With Burnley being relegated to the second tier, the Clarets are likely to make use of some of their peripheral players from last year, including Banel, which has since been confirmed by the club's director of football, Paul Jenkins.

When asked about the future of Banel, Jenkins said: "Jaydon is definitely part of our plans for next season, without a doubt.

"He’s had a really good experience at Derby, getting game time, minutes and the icing on the cake was that he scored three goals. Two of which were really fantastic individual goals, so he’s come back in great shape."

With that news in mind, Derby must look for an alternative on the market, and could do a lot worse than Brighton and Hove Albion's Ibrahim Osman.

Osman, 21, joined the Seagulls in the summer of 2024 for around £16 million from Danish side FC Nordjaelland, the club renowned for developing top African talent such as Mohammed Kudus, Simon Adingra, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Ernest Nuamah.

The Ghanaian spent the 2024/25 season out on loan with Dutch side Feyenoord, and then spent the first half of the 2025/26 campaign on loan with French side Auxerre, before Birmingham City picked the winger up for the second half of the most recent season.

Osman, with the likes of Demarai Gray, Patrick Roberts, and Carlos Vicente as competition, became a regular from the wing for Chris Davies' side, scoring twice and assisting twice from 17 Championship appearances.

His rapid pace, close control, and excellent technical ability made him a nightmare for second-tier opposition to defend against, and with him due to return to the South Coast this summer, another loan move could be on the cards.

Should an opportunity arise, Derby should absolutely be throwing their names into the mix for his services, as an obvious and ideal replacement for the outgoing Banel.

Capable of playing off either flank, Osman predominantly plays off the left, where he is best cutting in on his right foot, similarly to Banel, and with six months of experience of Championship football under his belt, he could take the league by storm next time around, and Derby should be one of the first in line to his services should they become available.

John Eustace must seek an alternative to Jaydon Banel and must consider Ibrahim Osman

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With Derby's chances of re-signing Banel this summer firmly in the bin, Eustace will likely already be looking for an alternative.

The Rams boss deployed both back-three and back-four formations across the recent campaign, utilising wingers with the back four, and preferring wing-backs without.

The signing of Banel in January indicated a shift to a back-four instead, and whether he will be favouring that approach heading into next season, at this stage, remains to be seen.

Should he indeed persist with that approach, a winger will be a necessity, and Osman would fill that void and then some.