Derby County have the ‘greenlight’ to strike full agreement for Swansea star but ON ONE CONDITION
Derby County will be hoping to enjoy a successful summer of transfer business in order to ensure they aren’t in a Championship relegation battle once again next season.
The Rams secured their safety on the final day of the season, with their 0-0 draw against Stoke City enough to ensure they’d survive in their first season back in the second tier since their 2021/22 relegation.
John Eustace and his team will now be looking to record a strong summer transfer window, as they look to keep the club moving on an upward trajectory next term.
As such, some big decisions will need to be made on a number of Rams players, with a host of exits and arrivals set to take place at Pride Park over the coming months.
“Might be worth a punt” – Derby County told to sanction Jerry Yates deal on one condition
We asked our Derby County fan pundit, Shaun Woodward: ‘Should Derby re-sign Jerry Yates or look for an alternative striker this summer?’
Woodward said: “Jerry Yates has given his all for Derby, and he’s scored some important goals.
“But, he’s also missed a hatful of really, really unbelievably good chances. I know all strikers miss chances, but he has missed some guilt-edged chances this season.
“I don’t think he’s a natural striker. I think he would benefit from having a partner alongside him, which he hasn’t had really because Lars-Jorgen Salvesen got injured straight away.
“He might be worth a punt keeping him as a backup striker, or as someone that can play alongside your main striker, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be going into next season again with him as our only striker.
“We need to be going out and looking at two-three strikers that would probably be ahead of him in the pecking order. That said, if there was a good offer for him to come to Derby relatively cheaply, then I wouldn’t be against that.
“I just don’t think we want to be relying on him as our main goalscorer.”
Jerry Yates’ contract situation could pave way for cheap Derby County transfer this summer
With the remit at Pride Park for 2025/26 being to pull away from the threat of relegation, and firmly establish themselves as a Championship club once again, shrewd transfer business will have to be completed this summer.
As such, whilst Yates may not have won the complete faith of the Derby support to lead the line for Eustace’s side next term, he has proven himself to be a steady source of goals at Championship level.
The 28-year-old is also entering the final year of his contract with Swansea City this summer, with his deal set to expire in the summer of 2026.
As such, the Swans may well view this upcoming summer transfer window as their last chance to secure a respectable fee for the striker, especially off the back of a 10-goal season in the Championship with the Rams.
Eustace has confirmed that County will discuss the possibility of striking a permanent deal for the former Blackpool and Rotherham man this summer, saying: “I think Jerry has done very well – that is something we will discuss at the end of the year.”
Therefore, there are suggestions that Derby would like to make Yates’ Pride Park stay a permanent one, and given his contract situation with Swansea, the Rams could bag themselves a cut-price deal for the centre-forward.