Derby County are now fully aware of the task that is in front of them in attempting to stay put in the Championship this season, after an alarming 4-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on the opening day.
The Rams just couldn’t deal with a barrage of second-half goals from the Riversiders, not helped by Sammie Szmodics being substituted late on to cause havoc for John Eustace’s men, but they will need to learn how to deal with the step-up in quality quickly.
Paul Warne could well be tempted to add more firepower to his ranks up top, after witnessing a fairly forgettable debut by Kayden Jackson in Lancashire, as a striker is lined up for a loan switch to Pride Park.
Derby in race for in-demand Premier League forward
As per football journalist Graeme Bailey earlier this week, Derby have entered the race to sign AFC Bournemouth attacker Daniel Jebbison, alongside a whole host of other Championship clubs.
One second-tier side who have already been unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Jebbison to their respective team is Sunderland, according to Bailey, but the door is still open for Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and many others to stake their claim as to why the Cherries forward should pack his bags and move to their club.
Derby would love to win this intense battle for the in-demand 21-year-old, as a statement to the division that they will fight tooth and nail to stay up by adding top-quality additions, even after such a sobering opening day performance.
How Mendez-Laing and Jebbison could link up
Jebbison could strike up a frightening partnership with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing in attack if he does put pen on paper to relocate to Derbyshire shortly, as the experienced 32-year-old aims to be a bright performer in the Championship again, having had to rebuild his once stuttering career in League One with the Rams.
Mendez-Laing will aim to take the higher-up division by storm, having previously played in the Premier League with Cardiff City across his extensive career to date, which saw him score some stunning strikes including the one above against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The seasoned winger showed to everyone that he still has what it takes on the opening day away at Blackburn, despite Derby losing 4-2, as both the Rams’ goals on the night were assisted by the skilful number 11, who now has 49 goal contributions from 102 total appearances for Warne’s men.
Jebbison, who has been described as being a “handful” in the past by Bournemouth teammate Lewis Cook, tried his hardest to show Andoni Iraola that he could make an impact for the Cherries still against Arsenal in a pre-season match-up recently.
| Jebbison’s performance vs Arsenal in pre-season | |
|---|---|
| Stat | Jebbison |
| Minutes played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 1 (penalty shoot-out) |
| Assists | 0 |
| Touches | 10 |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Big chances created | 1 |
| Duels won | 2/3 |
| Stats by Sofascore | |
He would end up tucking away a goal in a penalty shoot-out that followed the initial 1-1 result, in what was a promising cameo performance, with one big chance also created from just 26 minutes of action.
Mendez-Laing could be the creative player Jebbison needs next to him to find his shooting boots on a consistent basis again, with the ex-Sheffield United man showing in the past when still playing for the Blades that he doesn’t need too many chances to slot a goal home.
His only senior strike for the Blades in the Premier League came about from just 33 touches of the ball, with the striker knowing where to be at the perfect possible time to convert home a poacher’s finish, after just seven minutes of the clash versus Everton.
Moreover, Jebbison has shown in the EFL in the past that he can be a reliable source of goals, bagging nine strikes in all competitions whilst out on loan at Derby’s near neighbours Burton Albion during the 2021/22 campaign, as the Championship now comes knocking.
As such, this could be an exciting addition to the ranks, giving a livewire forward like Mendez-Laing another spritely striker to link up with.
