Derby County boss John Eustace has hinted he is open to looking to the free agent market to strengthen his squad in the battle for Championship survival.
A 4-0 defeat away at QPR on Friday night ensured it wouldn’t be a dream start to life as Derby manager for Eustace.
The 45-year-old took charge of the Rams for the first time at Loftus Road following his shock departure from Blackburn Rovers, but goals from Ronnie Edwards, Koki Saito, and an Ilias Chair double handed a convincing victory to the R’s.
With stuck inside the relegation zone with just 13 games to go, Eustace needs to have an instant effect on the squad in order to ensure his first full season in the Pride Park dugout isn’t as a League One manager next term.
So, despite the transfer window now being closed, could the former Blackburn boss look to the free agent market to bolster Derby’s survival chances?
Derby County manager John Eustace will “definitely look at” making free agent signings at Pride Park
Signed by Derby as a free agent himself back in the summer of 2013, Eustace appears open to the idea of boosting his Rams side in that market in the coming days and weeks.
Speaking to the press after Derby’s defeat at QPR, he said: “It’s something we can definitely have a look at. Obviously, you know, the last 24 hours I have had enough to think about, but yeah, that’s something we can look at for sure.”
Asked whether a fresh face will give the squad a lift, he said: “Yeah, maybe but, you know, the most important thing is that this group of players need some guidance.
“They need some stability and they need some leadership. I’m here now to help that group of players. All the hard work starts on Monday on that training field. You know, you win games when you do Monday to Friday correctly and I’m really looking forward to working with the squad of players going forward.”
He added: “We can’t be sulky. We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to create that fighting mentality with we don’t want to be victims. We’re fighters and coming in now, we make sure that these boys are ready, they roll their sleeves up. We’ve got players coming back from injury in the next couple of weeks as well, which is going to be important to the group and we’ve just got to keep going. If we give up there are going to be problems.”
Blackburn Rovers record suggests John Eustace is likely to add free agents
Having worked in a tight financial situation during his 12 months as Blackburn boss, a significant proportion of his transfer business at Ewood Park consisted of loans and free agent signings.
| Free agents signed by John Eustace as Blackburn manager – per Transfermarkt | |
|---|---|
| Player | Previous club |
| Yuri Ribeiro | Braga |
| Adam Forshaw | Plymouth |
| Andreas Weimann | Bristol City |
| Danny Batth | Norwich |
| Jack Barrett | Everton |
With Derby in a similar situation in regard to being careful and pragmatic with their spending, the conditions appear to be ripe for some out of contract additions at Pride Park in the early days of his stewardship, but where might these reinforcements arrive?
Matt Clarke and Sondre Klingen Langas made their respective moves in the January window to strengthen County’s centre-back options, whilst left-winger Harrison Armstrong and striker Lars-Jørgen Salvesen boosted the attacking ranks.
However, with a league-leading 18 games lost so far this season, Eustace’s first point of order will surely be to start converting some of those narrow losses into draws, with any point being a valuable one for the Rams at this stage of the campaign.
Right-back looks to be a weak spot in Derby’s back four, with Ryan Nyambe, Joe Ward and Kane Wilson all failing to look truly convincing in a starting role so far this term.
Nyambe in particular will feel as though he could’ve done more to prevent QPR’s opening three goals on Friday, whilst his zero tackles won and one of four ground duels won contributed to a FotMob rating of 4.9/10.
Derby have some good options in the middle of the park, so Eustace may not feel the need to strengthen in that department. But, County’s squad lacks a proven creative cog in the number 10 role, and with Eustace likely to stick with his favoured 4-2-3-1 system, having a quality player in that spot to link the midfield and attack together is vitally important.
He will truly have the chance to put his stamp on the team in the summer, but there are a few holes in Derby’s squad at this moment in time. It remains to be seen whether Eustace feels as though he can sail the squad through stormy seas, or if makeshift repairs are needed to ensure County get to safety before a proper rebuild of the team takes place at the end of the season.
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