Two Players Who Are Likely To Leave Derby County In The Summer
It’s been another season of turmoil for Derby County. Having sacked Nigel Pearson as manager due to an altercation, the Rams turned to former manager and Newcastle flop Steve McClaren.
When that didn’t go too well, Derby eventually got the opportunity to bring in former defender Gary Rowett as manager after he was surprisingly sacked by Midlands rivals Birmingham City. Derby’s form seemed to improve under Rowett and even with a chance of playing in the playoffs gone, things looked to be on the up at Pride Park.
Just when all was calm, owner Mel Morris dispensed with the services of CEO Sam Rush who has since threatened legal action against the club. Quite the year then! Morris, in the meantime, has publicly said that Gary Rowett has the autonomy to choose the makeup of his squad for next season. But with the pleasure of choosing his own incoming transfers also comes the pressure of choosing who will leave the club.
Here we look at two players who Rowett may not have total trust in, and may allow to leave, though both may be controversial choices:
Ikechi Anya
Although he was only signed last summer from Watford, Anya has not overly impressed on the wing for Derby County. To simplify things here, Watford are in the lower group of Premier League clubs and saw Anya as surplus to their requirements.
This alone tells you he may not be good enough to push Derby up to where they want to be. His record of 1 goal in 27 appearances for the club from an advanced position is not really looking good enough either. Anya would still command a decent fee and yet not be a big miss. So he is one they should look get rid of in order to create room in the squad for replacements.
Will Hughes
Although a lot was expected of Hughes when he broke onto the scenes in 2012, he has not really kicked on and lived up to his potential. True, he is only 22-years-old but he is not what Derby need. Like Anya, Hughes would command a good fee and so could bring in much-needed transfer funds to be used elsewhere by Rowett.
Hughes is not a defensive player and so more could have been expected by fans and coaches from him in front of goal. Both Hughes and Anya are symptomatic of Derby’s main problem and should be replaced with people who can finish better. Finding players who can add the goals to the squad needed for promotion is not something that can be done just by clicking your fingers. However, when you have valuable players in the squad simply not doing it, then they should at least be replaced in order to improve the situation.
