Derby County would be mad to turn down £10m Stoke offer for Tom Lawrence

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Derby County’s Tom Lawrence has been linked with Stoke City.

According to a report in The Sun, Stoke City could go in with a £10 million move for Derby County’s Tom Lawrence, as they look to find a replacement for the recently departed Xherdan Shaqiri.

Shaqiri’s exit from Stoke came as little surprise, and now newly-appointed manager Gary Rowett must find a suitable attacking replacement in their bid to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

The Sun claims both Huddersfield Town’s Tom Ince and Southampton’s Sam Gallagher are targets, while Rowett is also looking at one of his former Derby players – Lawrence.

The former Leicester City man arrived with the Rams last summer for a fee rising to £7 million (the BBC).

While a £10 million fee would only see Derby net a moderate profit, it would arguably be well worth it as there have been suggestions that Derby originally overpaid for the Wales international.

Lawrence managed six goals and eight assists in 41 league starts last term, but at times he frustrated supporters with his often-poor decision making and wastefulness in the final third.

No Derby player lost the ball more times than Lawrence last season, while he ultimately ended up losing more duels with defenders than he won.

If Lawrence stays at the club he is likely to feature through the middle as a number 10, but if that’s the case then where does that leave the Championship’s leading scorer Matej Vydra?

The Czech Republic international is a far better player in that role than Lawrence, and he works best behind a centre-forward which Derby have options in abundance – Cameron Jerome, Chris Martin and David Nugent.

It was reported that Derby would likely sell Vydra this summer to comply with Financial Fair Play rules (The Telegraph), but if they can do so by getting a decent fee for Lawrence instead, then it’s an option the club would be mad not to consider.