Following the January transfer window, Derby County was informed that they were “three or four players short” as they fight to remain in the Championship.
The Rams are currently going through a difficult period; Paul Warne’s team has dropped into the relegation zone after losing seven straight league games, their most recent victory occurring on Boxing Day.
Derby County’s January transfer business
As a result, it is understandable that the fans are anxious about the situation, and the club had the opportunity to fix certain team difficulties during the January window.
Last month, Derby had four new arrivals, which kept them busy. With midfielder Harrison Armstrong entering on loan from Everton and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen added to provide another option up top, Sondre Langas and Matt Clarke have increased their options at the back.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Derby, though, as the most well-known departure at Pride Park was Eiran Cashin joining Brighton.
Derby County criticised for lack of January activity
Even though the sale of Cashin was late in the window, it should’ve given Derby more financial power to strengthen the squad.
There was some disappointment among the fan base that more wasn’t done, particularly given how much Warne’s men are struggling.
So, when quizzed by FLW about whether the Derby hierarchy should’ve done more in the window, fan pundit Shaun was adamant that the club have left the manager short in terms of the quality and depth in the squad, as he questioned why more attacking additions weren’t finalised.
“I don’t want to be too critical of David Clowes because of what he has done for Derby, but it feels to me that we’re three or four players short in that transfer window to be competitive and to survive in this league.
“We were told that we had a competitive budget in this January window, and that was before the Cashin sale. So, in my opinion, we had quite a bit of money to go and get these players that we desperately needed in the offensive positions, which we haven’t really done.
“We’ve brought in a couple of centre-backs, to replace the ones we lost. We’ve brought in a centre-forward, and a young, untried central midfielder. But, we desperately needed wingers, full-backs and probably another forward.
“I’m not sure who is responsible for our inability to acquire those guys. You could have a look at Warne; is that the way he plays football? Are players unwilling to perform for us? Or is Clowes refusing to provide a portion of those funds? Something is wrong, and I believe we haven’t done enough, but I don’t want to place the responsibility on Clowes because of what he has done for us. We had to either fire Warne or support him, and I don’t believe we have done either.
In the end, Derby’s window will be evaluated in the summer, and Clowes and the hiring staff will undoubtedly face criticism if they fail in their attempt to remain in the Championship.
Derby has resumed their activities on Saturday with a trip to Norwich City
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