Derby County

Image source, Rex Features

Derby boss John Eustace said "it is great to be linked with good players" after it was reported the club had agreed a fee with Belgian side Lommel to sign Japanese winger Koki Saito.

Saito, 24, spent last season on loan at Queens Park Rangers before returning to Belgium in the summer.

"I think he's a player that everyone has been looking at," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"We've been linked with a number of players and obviously it's great to be linked with all the good players in the Championship, and he's no different."

Meanwhile, Eustace confirmed Kemar Roofe, who was released by Derby at the end of last season, is back training with the club.

The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to Scottish club Aberdeen but Eustace hinted he is interested in re-signing the former Leeds and Rangers forward if he can prove his fitness.

"We've allowed him to carry on training and there could be an opportunity here," Eustace added.

"He's willing to train for nothing and improve his fitness. The most important thing for Roofey is he stays fit and we're giving him that opportunity to do so."

"Lars-Jargen Salvesen and Patrick Agyemang could be back with the group in the next week or so. To have both striking options back is a big boost."

Malcolm Christie is joined by Dominic Dietrich and Ed Dawes on the Rams Weekly podcast as they discuss key injury updates, whether Derby need a formation change to accommodate the players available and what might be lacking down the wings.

Listen to the full episode of Rams Weekly and more on BBC Sounds.

Derby County will look to get their first points of the season when they host Bristol City on Friday (20:00 BST).

The Rams were involved in an entertaining eight-goal thriller last time out, having led Coventry City 3-2 before the Sky Blues scored three times to take a 5-3 win.

Meanwhile, Bristol City played out a goalless stalemate with Charlton Athletic and will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten start to the season at Pride Park.

• Derby County have lost just two of their last 10 home league games against Bristol City (W5 D3), keeping clean sheets in five of those matches.

• Bristol City have won six of their last eight league games against Derby County (L2), though did lose this exact fixture 3-0 last season.

• So far this season, Derby have lost each of their two Championship matches and will be looking to avoid losing their opening three league games of a campaign at any level since 2020-21.

• Bristol City have won just two of their last 16 away league games (D7 L7), although did win away on MD1 4-1 at Sheffield United, the first time they've netted 4+ goals on their travels since December 2023.

• Amongst the 10 Championship goalkeepers to make 5+ saves this season, Bristol City's Radek Vitek holds the highest save percentage (87.5%).

Derby have made a third offer of around £2m to Austrian side Sturm Graz for Scotland international right-back Max Johnston. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

Image source, Rex Features

Derby boss John Eustace confirmed new striker Rhian Brewster faces a race against time to make his Rams debut against Bristol City at Pride Park on Friday.

Brewster arrived from Sheffield United on a free transfer on 1 August but has struggled for fitness at the beginning of the campaign after missing pre-season.

"Rhian's had four sessions with the group. He's looking fitter, he played 45 minutes [for the B team] behind closed doors against Oxford," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"We'll assess it on Friday, we'll see how he's feeling, we'll see what the medical department say as well.

"It's important we protect him and when he's ready, he'll be playing.

"Rhian is a top performer in the Championship. The club worked very hard over the summer to bring him in and it's been a group effort to make sure he feels at home here at Derby.

"He's going to get better throughout the season, for sure."

Doncaster and Aberdeen are interested in signing free agent forward Kemar Roofe, once of Leeds and Rangers, with the 32-year-old Jamaican international training with Derby, who also remain interested in a new deal despite an injury-hit spell last season. (SportsBoom, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

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Derby face competition from Serie A side Bologna for Scotland defender Max Johnston.

The Rams have already had two bids rejected by Sturm Graz this summer for the 21-year-old right-back, who scored in Saturday's 3-1 Austrian Bundesliga win at Ried.

Johnstone has attracted other Championship interest and is preparing for Graz's Champions League play-off against Bodo/Glimt, with the first leg in Norway on Wednesday.

He moved to Graz from Motherwell in 2023 and has won back-to-back titles in Austria's top flight, making more than 60 first-team appearances and scoring twice.

Last season, the Scottish full-back also registered five assists in 24 league appearances.

Johnston made his senior debut for Scotland in the Nations League win over Greece in March before delivering an assist on his first international start under Steve Clarke in June's loss to Iceland.

Ed Dawes
BBC Radio Derby commentator

Image source, Rex Features

Derby County's first home game of the season had everything: goals, drama, and no shortage of tension. Unfortunately for the Rams, it also underlined the fragility of a side still searching for balance under head coach John Eustace.

To score three times and still lose is the kind of result that leaves coaches scratching their heads. It was entertaining for the neutral, but for Derby it was a reminder that attacking promise means little without defensive solidity.

Injuries to central defenders Sondre Langas and Curtis Nelson have forced Eustace into uncomfortable selections, and it showed against a Coventry side who punished every lapse.

The opening half was breathless, end-to-end football. Coventry struck first after a defensive lapse from a quick free-kick before Callum Elder opened his Rams goalscoring account with a superb equaliser. What followed was chaos - two penalties in quick succession and a bundled finish from Ebou Adams that briefly suggested Derby might seize control.

But the game turned just after the hour. A visible dip in energy coincided with Coventry's ruthless seven-minute spell in which Derby's defence was beaten for pace, beaten in the air, and too slow to close down in dangerous areas. That spell decided the match.

Still, not all was negative. Carlton Morris is beginning to look like the striker Derby had hoped for - physical, combative, and already with two goals to his name in as many matches. The side also created opportunities and showed spells of sharp interplay, offering glimpses of what might be possible once Eustace has his first-choice back line available.

The bigger question is how much ground Derby will lose while waiting for that day to come. Early-season points can be just as valuable as those in the spring, and consistency in defence must become the priority if Derby are to avoid turning every match into a shootout.

For now, Pride Park has already witnessed one of the season's most dramatic contests. Derby showed character going forward, but the defensive lapses told the real story. Until that balance is found, the Rams' ambitions will remain on an uncertain footing.

Championship clubs Derby County and Swansea City are chasing the loan signing of Liverpool winger Kaide Gordon. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

The 20-year-old has had previous loan spells in the Championship with Norwich City and Portsmouth and started his career at Derby before moving to Anfield in 2021.

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip column here.

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Derby County midfielder David Ozoh has emphasised the quality within the squad once players return from injury.

Ozoh featured just 12 times last season for Derby as he struggled with his own injury problems and re-signed on loan from Crystal Palace in July.

The 20-year-old does believe that the Rams squad is full of quality when fully fit.

"We know what we can do; with the players coming back, we know the quality we have. It's just about showing it," Ozoh told BBC Radio Derby.

"It's about the confidence; once we get that, we can beat any team in the league.

"We know the boost that all these injured players will give us; we're just excited. We know that once we're all back, we can dominate any team."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

"I get very emotional being at Pride Park, I just love this place. I love the ground, I love the vibe it gives off. I just love Derby County.

"I think John Eustace is one of the best, if not the best, manager in the league."

Rams fan and former One Direction star Niall Horan speaks to BBC Radio Derby following the team's topsy-turvy 5-3 defeat by Coventry City on Saturday.

The pop star also catches up with 1D fan and former Derby striker Malcolm Christie.

Listen to the full episode and more on Derby County on BBC Sounds.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Derby's start to the season has not been as positive as John Eustace would have planned.

Two defeats in two Championship matches have left Derby 22nd, just above both Sheffield clubs who have had equally rocky starts to the campaign.

As much as the league table at this stage of the season counts for hardly anything, the goal difference bracket certainly does not make for good reading and the biggest problems in both league matches for the Rams have come at the back.

Schoolboy errors, rash decision making and a lack of understanding between individual players has led to two very disjointed looking defensive displays to kick off the campaign.

Perhaps the most notable issue at Pride Park on Saturday was that a minimum of three of the goals Derby conceded were preventable.

A clumsy challenge leading to a penalty, switching off from a set-piece - paired with a goalkeeping error - failing to defend crosses coming into the box and not picking up second balls were all factors in Derby's downfall.

The biggest frustration amongst Rams fans has come from the side failing to hold onto a lead, both away from home at Stoke last weekend and at home this weekend.

For me, Derby need to be a little more streetwise and execute the 'dark arts' better to see games out and pick up results, particularly during a tough start to the season where the squad is struggling from a lack of strength in depth.

Image source, Rex Features

It's hard to understand how a team can score three goals at home and still not manage to get at least a point from the game.

Conceding five goals on your own patch is pretty disastrous, but it ultimately shows where Derby are at right now, and where we will continue to be until players begin to regain full fitness after the international break.

By the time the Rams visit The Hawthorns on 13 September, you would like to hope Eustace is able to field a much-improved and favoured starting XI.

Players such as Sondre Langas, Kane Wilson and Patrick Agyemang all look likely to return from the sidelines by mid-to-late September, which you can imagine will only boost the morale of fans, players, and staff.

It will also be interesting to see how much more business there is to be done in the remainder of the transfer window.

A winger, a central midfielder, and a full-back appear to be at the top of the fanbase's shopping list, and you would expect Eustace to want to bring at least two more players through the door between now and deadline day.

It's not all been doom and gloom despite results showing otherwise. The positive to take from both league matches for the Rams has been their attacking intent.

Derby now have a solid out-and-out number nine in Carlton Morris, who has produced two very strong performances in his first matches for the club and reminded many of previous Rams number nine Chris Martin.

His hold-up play, aggressiveness to get on the end of crosses, ability to bring his team-mates in to the game, and his natural finishing capabilities have all been bright sparks for the team in an otherwise lacklustre beginning to the season.

Two difficult league games remain before the first international break.

Should Derby tighten up defensively and cut out silly errors, there is no reason why they can't pick up their first points of the season - but they will need to be much more resolute and professional when coming up against teams that possess dangerous attacking quality in Bristol City and Ipswich Town.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Derby boss John Eustace admitted his side's defending has to improve after their 5-3 defeat at home by Coventry.

The Rams have lost both their opening Championship games this season, conceding eight goals in the process.

"Really disappointing to lose. I was proud of the effort of the group again. They were 100% committed. But we needed to be a lot better, especially when we go 3-2 up," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"We've got to defend the box better. It's something we haven't done well enough during pre-season and in the first couple of games. It's something that we've got to keep working on.

"That's not what we're all about. We're always hard to play against, always defend the box for our lives - this is our DNA. In the last two games we just haven't done that well enough.

"The positives to come out of the game were three goals - to go behind twice and come back showed great character. So we've got that fighting spirit, we've just got to be better in both boxes."

Derby's next match is at home to Bristol City on Friday.

Birmingham are set to battle Derby and QPR for the signing of £5m-rated Japanese midfielder Koki Saito, 24, who spent time on loan at the R's last season from Belgian club Lommel. (Mike McGrath, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.

Dominic Dietrich
BBC Radio Derby journalist

Two games down and Derby County have been beaten in stoppage time, minutes away from a result, and ground down a strong West Bromwich Albion side to win on penalties in the first round of the league cup.

Head coach John Eustace took to the press conference today with confidence in the message he wants to get across but it's becoming clear in the early moments of this season that there may have to be some 'short-term pain' to get through to the 'long-term gain' this campaign.

Of course he was asked for his response to Blackburn Rovers boss Valerian Ismael's comments on midfielder Lewis Travis, who has been subject of two failed bids from the Rams.

Ismael revealed Travis wanted to leave the club but, as you'd expect, Eustace wasn't getting drawn into any comment on a player under contract at another club.

There was good news, and there was bad news.

Eustace hopes summer signing Rhian Brewster will be fit in a week or but Liverpool loanee full-back Owen Beck has suffered a setback in his recover from a muscle injury so will be out of action until after the September international break.

The Rams face Coventry City this weekend, a club that steadily built their championship status over a number of years.

As Eustace talks about the new two to three years at Pride Park, you can't help but draw parallels with the Sky Blues and their journey, and the expectation to go that next step now and gain promotion.

Listen to the full pre-match interview with Eustace and more on BBC Sounds.

Coventry City travel to Derby County on Saturday (15:00 BST) with both sides looking for a first win of the league season.

Since joining the Rams in February, manager John Eustace guided the side to a 19th-placed finish which ensured their survival, while Sky Blues' boss Frank Lampard will be hoping to finish inside that top six again following last season's disappointment.

• Derby are unbeaten across their past four league games against Coventry (W2 D2), completing a league double over them last season. The Rams haven't won three in succession since April 2010.

• Coventry have won just one of their past 21 away league games against Derby (D9 L11); a 3-1 victory in October 2003.

• Derby have won two of their past three opening home games of a league season (L1), as many victories as across their prior 12 such matches combined (D6 L4).

• Coventry haven't won their opening away game in any of the past seven league campaigns (D3 L4) since winning 2-0 at Grimsby Town in League Two back in 2017-18.

• Last weekend, Derby's Ebou Adams made more tackles than any other player (8) – the last player to record more in a second tier match for the Rams was Graeme Shinnie vs Bournemouth in October 2020 (9).

"I know player power rules but I've not heard a manager out a player like that and still pick him in his team. It's a player Derby could really do with."

Former Derby striker Malcolm Christie, Dominic Dietrich and Ed Dawes reflect on the first week of the new season, the potential signing of Lewis Travis and a first win of the campaign after a 3-2 win on penalties against West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup.

Listen to the full episode of the Rams Weekly podcast and more on BBC Sounds.

BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Reid said "the ball is in Derby County's court" regarding a move for Blackburn captain Lewis Travis after a surprising admission from Rovers' boss Valerien Ismael.

This is after Ismael said after his side's Carabao Cup defeat by Bradford City that if the price is right then they would allow Travis to leave.

"He casually dropped it in the interview that his club captain wants to leave," Reid told BBC Radio Derby.

"It took us by surprise... It is a strange situation when a manager reveals this.

"I think Blackburn will sell if Derby offer what valuation they want."

Listen to the full analysis and more on BBC Sounds.

Derby County boss John Eustace is looking to recruit another player from former club Blackburn Rovers after making a £1.5m bid for English midfielder Lewis Travis. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Image source, Rex Features

Derby County boss John Eustace said he was "really proud" of his squad following their penalty-shootout victory at West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Joe Ward's free-kick six minutes into stoppage time enforced penalties before goalkeeper Josh Vickers saved two spot-kicks to ensure the Rams' passage into the next round.

"I was really proud of the effort of the group, we're picking a team there that needs minutes in the legs. I think that's very evident," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"Jake Rooney - that's his first start for two years, Wardy [Joe Ward], to get his first 90 minutes over 18 months as well, it's great to get the academy players on – it's really important we keep promoting the academy."

Eustace also revealed his side had prepared for penalties before the match.

"We spoke about it before [the match], [assistant coach] Keith Downing was in charge of penalties and with his experience in different tournaments with England, he certainly helped the group as well.

"Josh [Vickers] was outstanding last season, he never let anyone down.

"We've got Paul Clement who is a top, top coach at the development of goalkeepers, so you can see the improvements since he's come in on all the goalkeepers."