The Rams need a goal-scorer. And it just so happens that one of the Championship’s best has just come on the market.
Derby County may be top of the form table right now, accumulating a league-leading 19 points from their last eight games, but any chance Steve McClaren has of resting the ghosts of his failed promotion attempts during his first spell in charge could well rest on how the Rams approach the January sales.
Even six wins in their last eight games does not quite hide a statistic that foreshadows another near miss in the business end of the campaign. You see, after 19 Championship games, Derby have managed a frankly miserable 17 goals; by far the fewest in the top half and 20 less than leaders Newcastle United. In fact, only second from bottom Wigan Athletic have scored fewer in the second tier this season.
While possessing a rampant, 20-plus centre-forward does not guarantee promotion, Ross McCormack has spent the majority of his career bouncing round mid table after all, it certainly doesn’t do your chances any harm. Yet, this season, only Tom Ince has scored five or more while £8 million club-record summer signing Matej Vydra (BBC) has contributed just two.
Consequently, it is difficult to imagine that Derby would have not have taken note when Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka admitted that one of the most prolific Football League strikers of recent years could be on his way out in January.
It seems remarkable that Rhodes had to wait so long for his Premier League opportunity. It is even more remarkable that it could be taken away from him after just six months and four games. After all, the 26-year-old netted 83 times in 159 games in a four season spell with Blackburn although, admittedly, his most prolific Championship season was his first in 2012-13.
Yet, there are few better at this level than the Scotland international, who could complement the creativity of Ince and co with a clinical finish often lacking in Vydra, Darren Bent or James Wilson. If Derby are top of the form table without a reliable goalscorer, just imagine where they would be with one.
According to the Daily Mail, Boro want to recoup the £9 million they paid for his services at the start of the year but, with promotion rivals Norwich City, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton all circling, it is an opportunity Derby cannot afford to miss. Breaking their transfer record for the second time in one season pales into insignificance when considering the untold riches on offer in the Promised Land.
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