John Eustace drops honest Derby County transfer update as Nottingham Forest linger | OneFootball

Derby County manager John Eustace has opened up on what he expects in the January transfer window

Derby County manager John Eustace has predicted a lot of interest in his players this January.

The Rams took a while to get going this season, winning just one of their opening ten league matches, leaving them dwindling towards the bottom of the table.

However, Derby began to turn things around in late October, defeating Norwich 1-0 before going on a streak of five successive wins, which boosted their status in the league table.

Now, the Pride Park outfit sit just three points outside of the play-off places, with hopes that their upturn in form can be sustained throughout the rest of the campaign.

With this season’s Championship so tightly compact, the upcoming January transfer window is of critical importance. Get it right, and a top-six finish may be your reward. Get it wrong, and you could find yourself slipping down the standings during the run-in.

John Eustace predicts transfer interest in Derby County’s players

Derby have had a number of impressive performers this season, who will naturally begin to attract interest from elsewhere.

Brentford and Nottingham Forest have both been linked with a move for Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, with the Swede consistently operating at a top level this term.

When queried about whether the goalkeeper could exit Pride Park in January, Eustace revealed that he doesn’t expect transfer speculation to be limited to one single player.

"I expect interest in a lot of the players," he said to the Derby Telegraph.

"They're all playing very well. Jacob's a good young goalkeeper and he's a player that we certainly don't want to lose.”

Reports have recently surfaced that Zetterstrom could be offered a new contract to stay at Derby for the foreseeable future and fend off any interest from other teams.

Eustace refused to elaborate further on this issue, stating that it was for “the agent and club” to talk about.

Derby County must not let important players leave in January

As previously mentioned, the Championship is extremely compact this season, with most teams in the division in with a shout of achieving promotion.

Even clubs such as Southampton, Sheffield United and Derby, who suffered poor starts, have been able to turn their campaigns around in a relatively short period of time.

The sides relegated from the Premier League last year haven’t been able to dominate like usual, which means there is a rare opportunity for the other 21 outfits to have a real shot at promotion.

Derby can’t waste this shot by letting some of their top performers leave in January, even if they are offered hefty transfer fees. Eustace must make sure that he keeps hold of the most important players in his squad to give the Rams their best possible chance at promotion.

But as the 46-year-old admitted, there will likely be interest in a number of his players this January, so not letting anyone go could be a task easier said than done.