4-4-1-1: Derby County’s new best XI post-deadline day

Follow us on Google Discover

Derby County signed Matej Vydra and Ikechi Anya before the deadline.

Derby’s manager Nigel Pearson

After entering the Championship season as the only club yet to buy a new player, Derby County opted to make some crucial changes to the squad ahead of the summer transfer deadline.

The Rams spent the past three seasons knocking on the door of promotion, yet a failure to reach the Premier League has seen the club undergo some fairly big changes this summer.

Nigel Pearson was appointed as manager, and the former Leicester City man’s arrival has prompted a move away from the club’s previous 4-3-3 formation to now a variation of 4-4-2.

Rather unsurprisingly, Derby’s start to the new season has been a mixture of inconsistent, unspectacular and for some supporters, quite boring. Five points from five matches, just one goal scored and three conceded.

Derby’s squad was pretty much built for 4-3-3, therefore changes simply had to be made.

The last two days of the transfer deadline saw Ikelchi Anya and Matej Vydra arrive from Watford, while academy product Jeff Hendrick joined Burnley and last season’s top scorer Chris Martin joined Fuham.

Controversial? Most definitely, yet some supporters understand it’s ultimately necessary in order for the playing squad to start to resemble a side capable of playing to Pearson’s preference of style.

So following Derby’s late business, here is what Nigel Pearson’s new-look starting XI could look like.

Anya and Vydra will most certainly become regulars, while Abdoul Camara has gradually been seeing more playing time with each passing week and could soon become a main feature of the side.

Andreas Weimann is an interesting option upfront, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him replace Tom Ince in time, though the latter undoubtedly has the natural ability to start making an impact.

Players such as Craig Bryson, Johnny Russell and Bradley Johnson may feature less in the coming months, while George Thorne’s imminent return from injury will no doubt give the side a huge boost.

Not much change with the back five, with Marcus Olsson now becoming first-choice left-back after Craig Forsyth suffered yet another cruel knee ligament injury which will rule him out for much of the season.