Derby County star set for exit as U-turn decision made – 'It makes total sense' | OneFootball

FLW’s Derby County fan pundit has reflected on Derby County’s decision to let Andi Weimann depart to Rapid Vienna.

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 busy during the January transfer window as they look to consolidate their name in the play-off race.

The Rams made three permanent signings, bringing in left-back Derry Murkin in from Utrecht, Oscar Fraulo from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Dion Sanderson from Birmingham City, after the latter had spent this campaign originally on loan at Pride Park.

Meanwhile, Derby utilised the loan market too, luring Jaydon Banel and Sammie Szmodics for the remainder of the season from Burnley and Ipswich Town respectively.

The signing of Szmodics is bound to have raised a few eyebrows within the promotion-contending pack, with the frontman linking back up with John Eustace and hopeful of rediscovering his goalscoring touch, as he did at Ewood Park with Blackburn Rovers.

With so much added depth in the attacking areas, it was no surprise to see Andi Wiemann touted with a move away from Pride Park, with Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna making an approach for his services.

Originally, Derby snubbed the approach, but the club has appeared to have made a U-turn and now allowed the 34-year-old to return to his native Austria.

Reacting to the original rebuff, FLW’s Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward believed Weimann still had a role to play in the side for the remainder of the season, but it now appears he will play no further part in a Rams shirt.

With this in mind, our Derby fan pundit has reacted to the news and outlined his thoughts on Weimann’s impending exit.

Derby County, Andi Weimann exit deal “makes total sense”

Speaking to Football League World, Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward believes that the Rams’ U-turn decision to send Andi Weimann to Rapid Vienna “makes total sense”, as the forward was not in line to receive many minutes for the rest of the season given their depth in forward areas.

Shaun told FLW: “Like I said before, I could understand why we would have kept him, because I still believe he could have a role to come on in the last 10-15 minutes of a game, like he did at Bristol City, but the fact we signed Szmodics, we’ve got Morris coming back to fitness now, we’ve got Banel, we’ve got Fraulo, Diaz, Agyemang, Clark as well, we’ve got so many attacking options.

“His game-time is going to be so limited, and I totally understand why he’d want to get minutes elsewhere, and with the World Cup coming this summer, he’s got an outside chance of making the Austria squad, so for him, it’s a good opportunity to get minutes, showcase what he can do, and for us, we’re not losing much because he would have been sixth or seventh choice anyway.

“It makes total sense from Derby and Weimann for him to go get game-time and I wish him all the best.”

Derby County will be pleased to offload Rams outcast in Andi Weimann

While Andi Weimann was still getting some minutes on the pitch for Derby in recent times, you can’t imagine he would have been content coming off the bench for the last 10 minutes of games, so a move back home seems a move that definitely suits the forward, particularly when he has his sights set on a place in Austria’s World Cup squad.

His assist in their 5-0 romping of Bristol City last week still shows what he can do at Championship level, but now that Weimann is going, it’s one less face John Eustace has to worry about when trying to give all players in a rather inflated forward department ample game-time.

Weimann's rich experience in the Championship means that he could still have been an asset to have for Derby and had a positive impact on the dressing room as they chase a return to the Premier League, so it remains to be seen whether this deal will work out for the club in the long run.

But certainly, from the outside looking in, it appears Derby have made the right decision by completing this U-turn. They can now fully focus on the squad of players they’ve got, achieving their aims of breaking into the top six and giving themselves a shot at returning to the big time.