Derby County fans only have one more day to wait until they’re able to watch their beloved Rams play Championship football once more, with Paul Warne’s men travelling to John Eustace’s Blackburn Rovers for a Friday night affair at Ewood Park.
Warne will still be itching to get more bodies in through the door between now and the close of the month though, with a real position of worry for the Rams coming in between the sticks, as a move for lofty Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström continues to be delayed.
The ex-Rotherham United manager could well also want to improve the forwards he has at his disposal heading into the tougher league, with this tricky attacker on the agenda of the newly promoted outfit once more.
Derby determined to snap up former EFL ace
Last weekend journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, reported that Derby are very much keen on a move for Brest winger Karamoko Dembele this summer, and could have an upper hand now in their pursuit of the enigmatic forward.
Dembele, according to Nixon, fancies a move to the second tier over a switch anywhere further down the EFL, which doesn’t bode well for Birmingham City, who are known to be another interested party alongside the Rams.
What Dembele can offer alongside Ozoh
Starring out on loan in the third tier last season with Blackpool, before heading back to France, Warne and Co would love to be able to win his services, knowing how slippery he can be on the ball when bombing forward at opposition defenders.
Derby would reportedly be able to snap Dembele up on a permanent basis too, and based on his pre-season performances before the bread and butter of Championship football finally kicks into gear, the diminutive forward could star in his new location partnered alongside Crystal Palace loanee David Ozoh.
The promising 19-year-old central midfielder would pop up with a strike in Derby’s final pre-season fixture against Real Valladolid, to help his new loan employers to a 2-1 victory, which could mean he has laid down a significant marker for a starting spot against the Riversiders tomorrow night.
At youth level for Oliver Glasner’s Eagles, Ozoh has shone too, with four goals and three assists managed from a combined total of 68 games in and around the U18s and U21s.
| Dembele’s numbers for Blackpool (23/24) | |
|---|---|
| Stat (* = per 90 mins) | Dembele |
| Games played | 39 |
| Goals scored | 8 |
| Assists | 13 |
| Shots* | 1.3 |
| Big chances missed | 0 |
| Big chances created | 15 |
| Key passes* | 2.0 |
| Stats by Sofascore | |
Dembele will know very well the importance of having a formative loan spell away from your parent club, with his time at Blackpool last campaign in League One finally seeing him live up to the hype that came his way when he was a wide-eyed kid at Celtic, with eight goals and 13 assists tallied up from 39 league games.
Described as “unique” in the way he goes about playing his football by his ex-Tangerines manager Neil Critchley, with a constant focus on entertaining onlookers with dazzling displays, Dembele might well become a fan’s favourite at Pride Park if he does sign on the dotted line, with Warne’s style of football known to be more attritional at times than free-flowing.
