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As England under-20s toiled against Italy at the Eco Power Stadium on a brisk November night, Paul Warne was among the thousands of interested observers.
Presumably, Derby County’s head coach was not just there because of patriotic duty, but to also assess the next generation of talent that will soon hurtle off the Premier League production line.
Although England lost 3-0 on the night it would have been a useful scouting mission to gather intelligence, particularly with the January transfer window on the horizon. Whether anybody caught his eye remains to be seen, but his attendance reaffirmed that recon missions are taking place as Derby consider their options ahead of the market opening for the final time this season.
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Footage of players is being constantly examined and recruitment meetings are regularly taking place at Moor Farm where the fans would love to be a fly on the wall as the list of potential targets is discussed. Derby are trying to be as prepared as they can be and Warne has already detailed that he wants to strengthen his attack while bolstering the midfield is also not out of the equation.
He will be backed to do so, particularly after a profitable month has left them just six points behind leaders Bolton in the chase for promotion and a place back in the Championship.
Derby’s head coach has spoken previously of his desire to improve his squad, but the January window is not comparable to the summer when the pool of players available is vast in number. Clubs all tend to compete for the same players and it is a market that often suits the seller rather than the buyer. Prices are inflated, clubs overpay to gazump rivals, and as Warne concedes, it’s not as easy as computer games make it out to be.
“It’s a sad job as a football manager when it comes to recruiting,” says Warne. “Sometimes you get shown players that might be affordable and oddly enough they are the ones who are amazing. It’s like going into a showroom and you’ve got a Porsche and a Lada. You ask how much is it and they say don’t worry about that. I’ll say I’ll go for the Porsche and then you get told you can’t afford it.
“You have to be realistic with your targets and we are looking at players who would want to come here, would improve us and are both affordable and available. That isn’t easy by the way. It’s easy if you’re playing on FIFA, but it’s not easy for any team in this pyramid system. You try to do everything you can, have as many conversations as you can, have as many meetings as you can, and as much persuasion as you can.
“I’ve had it before where you feel like you are just about to get the best player you could get and then last minute.com, a player in your target’s squad gets injured and then the player you want to sign won’t be allowed to leave. January can be a frustrating time, but it can be an exciting one if you get it right, but sometimes, even throwing money at it isn’t enough.”
Derby have already made it clear that Warne will be given scope to make additions and the view is that it will be different to the one window they had last season. Back then the club was still under restriction after coming out of administration and while there is still Derby’s own business plan to adhere to, which is monitored by the EFL, it is more relaxed.
Decisions will have to be made on Tyreece John-Jules whose loan spell from Arsenal is due to end next month, while Elliot Embleton’s return to Sunderland should be officially rubber-stamped after his serious thigh injury. Ultimately, the desire is that Derby will add players who can improve, rather than supplement, what is already in the building.
While Tony Springett, Harvey White, and Luke McGee were the three signings who arrived at Pride Park in January earlier this year, their impact was not as significant as everybody hoped. But this time, Derby will look for the quality that could potentially have a massive bearing on where they finish this season. The problem is that in mid-season the prices tend to be drastically inflated.
“In the last January window here, I didn’t think there was a lot wrong and I was only going to bring in people who improved us,” continued Warne. “I brought in Tony Springett, Harvey White, and Luke McGee. I needed a keeper, I brought in Springett as an option out wide and Harvey came in because I felt we needed another midfielder. But as it panned out all three between them probably played 180 minutes. I tried to bring in better players to beat the ones in front but we couldn’t do that. The fear is that despite all the effort in the world, you still can’t improve.
“Last year I wouldn’t say I got too emotionally attached to the players, but maybe I didn’t see the faults. That’s my mistake. I should have thought well if I can’t get better than him, then I should get something different to him. But throughout the window, although I only signed those three, I went through a list of different players I tried to bring in. I thought Springett had an effect at times, the keeper didn’t play and Harvey played but now Stevenage have bought him and he can’t get on the bench there.
“We are trying to improve all the time but even with all the best preparation, the best planning, the January window just isn’t fair sometimes and that’s not just exclusive to us but it affects everybody in the league. You also overpay and that’s the truth. More so with attacking players. Now teams can put nine players on the bench, even if you look at the Premier League, Lewis Dobbin is playing against Manchester United and last year he was coming on against Port Vale.
“He is a good player, but the point is that there aren’t thousands of attacking players ready to go out on loan. And if you want to buy one, they don’t come cheap.”
What do you think Derby need in January? Have your say in the comments section.
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