Derby County star "deserves" Leeds United transfer - Wolves switch would make "no sense" | OneFootball

The Derby County goalkeeper might be on his way out from Pride Park, with Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers tipped as possible destinations.

Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom will return from the World Cup with considerable speculation about his future regarding clubs in both the Premier League and the Championship.

Players are now returning from the 2026 World Cup finals in North America, and one who will come back to England to be greeted with considerable speculation concerning his future is the Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

Zetterstrom was called up to the Sweden squad by head coach Graham Potter, despite only having made three prior appearances for them, but was called in as a replacement for Kristoffer Nordveldt following the 5-1 defeat inflicted upon them by the Netherlands in their second match.

Having featured in their final group match against Japan and their round of 32 defeat to France, and received reasonably good reviews despite his team's reasonably early exit from the competition, Zetterstrom's profile has only further boosted, and he's already been on the radar of several clubs, which makes his departure from Pride Park this summer look inevitable.

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom urged to make step up to the Premier League after Derby & Sweden exploits

Action images

Two clubs that have been connected with a potential move for Zetterstrom are Premier League side Leeds United and freshly-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, so FLW has spoken to our resident Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward, who is in little doubt over where the goalkeeper's next destination should be.

"It wouldn't make any sense to sell him to Wolves. It wouldn't be a step forward for him because he'd be playing in the same league, and he needs to be playing at a higher level," Shaun told FLW.

"So, if we are going to sell him it would make total sense to do it to a team in the Premier League.

"He deserves that shot, and even if Wolves can match Leeds's offer, he needs to be playing at a higher level, because it makes no sense, him staying in the same league and potentially stagnating in the Championship.

"He needs to be playing with the best players and against the best players to progress his career.

"He deserves that shot, so it would make absolutely no sense for us to sell him to Wolves, especially if they can't pay more than Leeds, but even if they can, I still think for him personally he should be in the Premier League."

What Derby, Wolves and Leeds fans are saying about Jacob Widell Zetterstrom's future

The possibility of Zetterstrom moving on from Pride Park has caused a lot of comment on social media, but not all Leeds fans are that excited by the prospect of him going to Elland Road.

This cynicism doesn't apply to all fans of the Premier League club, though they are being warned to be careful with their money.

These Wolves fans are of the view that Zetterstrom would make a decent addition at Molineux if the price is right.

But this Derby County fan believes that any offers for their goalkeeper are going to need to be high, to tempt the Rams to sell up.

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom will surely have his eyes on the Premier League

Action Images

A strong performance in a World Cup will always boost the profile of a player, and this has certainly been the case regarding Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

The goalkeeper's call-up by Graham Potter for Sweden's final group match against Japan raised a few eyebrows, but the 1-1 draw they took from the game was enough to get them through to the Round of 32, and even though they couldn't get past France, Zetterstrom's stock rose still further with a strong performance against the tournament favourites.

But Zetterstrom earned his place in the Sweden squad off the back of a string of impressive performances for Derby County as the Rams pressed hard for a play-off place last season.

Derby County were eventually pipped to the post for the final one of these by Hull City, but this was still a dramatic improvement on the end of the 2024-25 season, when they were sweating on whether they'd survive the drop until the last day of the season.

But with Illan Meslier having left Leeds United at the end of last season - he's currently reported to be set to join Arsenal - there's a space at Leeds for another goalkeeper.

Karl Darlow was their goalkeeper for much of last season, but he's now 35 years of age and Zetterstrom would be expected to press hard to become Daniel Farke's first choice.

Going to Wolves would be a sideways move, with the Black Country club having been relegated at the end of 2025-26, but there have been persistent rumours that Sam Johnstone could be on his way to Manchester United, while Jose Sa has also been linked to a move away from Molineux. They're clearly ambitious to return to the Premier League quickly, so this move being a sideways one could be a temporary state of affairs.

Moving to the Premier League will have an obvious appeal to the goalkeeper, but the risks are higher. First-team football in the Championship with Wolves might be easier to hold onto than in the Premier League with Leeds.

At 27 years of age, though, Zetterstrom is now reaching the peak years of his career, and if he's to get to the highest level he can play at, now might be the best time to take that chance.