Derby County To Tempt Target With Regular Game Time | OneFootball

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Derby County are weighing up signing Ipswich Town attacker Sammie Szmodics with the tempter of regular game time for the player, according to journalist Mike McGrath.

The Rams are keen to bolster John Eustace’s options before the window closes, with the club increasingly looking upwards in the Championship table.

Business has already been done at Pride Park, with Dion Sanderson making his loan move from Birmingham City permanent and Oscar Fraulo arriving to boost the midfield.

Now Derby are aiming to add to Eustace’s final third options and have set their sights on a former Championship top scorer in the shape of Szmodics.

He was snapped up by Ipswich in the summer of 2024, amid interest from Leeds United.

Blackburn Rovers even put a clause into Szmodic’s deal which would have seen them bag an extra payment had Ipswich qualified for Europe.

Ultimately, Ipswich were relegated and Szmodics has struggled to command regular game time under Kieran McKenna at Portman Road this season.

The 30-year-old has managed just 16 league outings for Ipswich so far this term, finding the back of the net once.

Now Derby are ‘looking at a deal’ to bring Szmodics to Pride Park ‘and will offer’ him regular game time.

The move could well be an appealing one to Szmodics, especially as Derby are within just two points off the playoff spots in the Championship table, meaning a famous promotion winning campaign is not out of the question.

Szmodics found the back of the net 27 times in 44 Championship outings for Blackburn in the 2023/24 campaign and also struck six times in the FA Cup.

He found the going much tougher in the Premier League, striking just four times in 20 outings.

Derby though will be confident that given games, Szmodics can start to score again.

Capable of playing as an attacking midfielder through to the front man, Szmodics is under contract at Ipswich until the summer of 2028.

It is unclear what terms Derby are considering signing him on.