The Newcastle United man had been linked with Derby for a while, but the Rams signing Curtis Davies from Hull City appears to have changed things.
Newcastle United’s Grant Hanley celebrates scoring their sixth goal
Derby County have dropped their interest in Newcastle United centre half Grant Hanley after signing Curtis Davies from Hull City, as reported by the Derby Telegraph, but manager Gary Rowett is still keen to bring in defensive reinforcements, as reported by BBC Sport.
Newcastle had a £4m offer for Hanley on the table from the Rams, but the signing of 32-year-old Davies from Hull for £500k, as reported by the Derby Telegraph, has put an end to that, while Hanley’s £45k a week wages may have also been a factor in Derby dropping their interest.
Hull City’s Curtis Davies in action with Chelsea’s Diego Costa
It seems Rowett is looking for more sensible options when it comes to the transfer market this season – which signing Davies demonstrates – though he’s far from finished in the summer transfer window.
Speaking in the aftermath of signing Davies, Rowett admitted that the defence was an area that needed looking at – and still does, as he announced his intention to sign at least one other defender – while also claiming that the transfer action in general has been pretty quiet so far.
Derby manager Gary Rowett
“The defence was one area we were short of in terms of bodies,” Rowett said, as reported by BBC Sport. “This one (Davies’ signing) ticks a lot of boxes in that sense and we spoke about getting a couple of deals done early and this is one of that couple.
“You appreciate that the fans are edgy to get one or two deals done but there hasn’t been a lot of action – it’s been really dead. There’ll be a flurry of action a week before pre-season starts and a couple of weeks before the start of the season.
“I’d love to say we’ll have our complete squad by 28 June when we come back from pre-season, and it’s our aim, but that’s never going to happen I still think we’ll end up bringing another defender in at some point – the exact position in the back four would be irrelevant at the moment.”
Derby County manager Gary Rowett
Derby actually had the fourth best defensive record in the Championship last season, conceding 50 times in 46 games, so it seems that Rowett is looking to make an already strong defence even stronger – which is exactly what Davies will do.
Expectations will be high as ever at Pride Park for the upcoming season, and how much time Rowett gets in charge of the Rams remains to be seen – the former Birmingham City manager was the club’s third permanent manager in the 2016/17 campaign.
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