3 City players Derby could sign in January – including £6.5m player at Rams’ league rivals

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Derby County hope to profit from their prospective new owner’s relationship with Manchester City, according to The Daily Mirror [18 November, page 54].

It is claimed that Derby are set to be taken over by Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan – whose cousin is the City backer Sheikh Mansour.

And it is said that the Rams ‘are expecting to be boosted by at least two loans’ from Pep Guardiola’s team.

The report adds that, despite their potential cash injection, the managerless Championship side will have their January spending restricted by the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.

And any relationship with Manchester City could be extremely beneficial to Derby’s survival chances – though it remains to be seen which Blues players could make moves to Pride Park.

Here are three potential targets…

Tommy Doyle

Wayne Rooney could soon be spending more time in the dugout than in central midfield, and a replacement may be high on the Rams’ agenda if the former England captain is handed the manager’s job full-time. Doyle – who is the grandson of two City legends, Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe – has played as a six, an eight and a 10 for the the Citizens’ youth sides and could be looking to increase his first-team exposure, having already appeared four times for his boyhood club and signed a new five-year contract earlier this year – despite reports of interest from Leeds United.

Patrick Roberts

Derby’s natural wide options are currently limited to Kamil Jozwiak, Tom Lawrence and Morgan Whittaker, and the Rams could seeking reinforcements there this winter. City once paid £6.5 million for Roberts, but have used him just three times in five years. Middlesbrough are the 23-year-old’s fourth different loan club, having re-signed him in the summer, but have only played him twice themselves. A change of plan could be in order in January, and Derby may be a decent option.

Liam Delap

Derby are the Championship’s lowest scorers this season and whoever’s in charge is likely to prioritise the signing of a striker in the new year. Delap is already well-known to the Rams, as the son of their former player, Rory, and having been on the books at Pride Park before City came calling last year. He has since scored once in two games for the City first team and twice in one for the Under-21s in the EFL Trophy. Still, a loan spell could do wonders for his development – if the Citizens have enough bodies to let him go.