Shrewsbury Town are interested in bringing Republic of Ireland international James Collins back to New Meadow this summer, according to Darren Witcoop.
Collins signed with Derby County last season and made 42 appearances for the club in League One as the Rams narrowly missed out on the final playoff place.
The Irishman bagged 11 times in League One under Paul Warne but could be on the move once again this summer, having spent just 12 months at Pride Park.
Shrewsbury Town are the club being linked with re-signing the 32-year-old. Collins scored 24 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Shrews from 2010-2012 before returning from 2014-2016 and scoring a further 24.
Witcoop has reported that Derby County will not entertain any offers for the experienced centre-forward until a new striker is brought to the club.
Would it make sense to sell Collins?
In an interview last week with BBC Radio Derby, head coach Paul Warne revealed that he would like to sign a new frontman:
“I would like a nine and a number 10 really, but I’m not trying to be greedy.”
Warne also mentioned the difficulties of trying to sign a new number ‘9’ when Derby’s budget was already quite stretched:
“If we’re getting a player in that’s better than the ones that we’ve got out here, who’s currently under contract, then you’re going to do well to get a number nine here for £200,000.”
Essentially, Warne admitted his desire to acquire a new striker while also having Collins and summer signing Conor Washington in the squad, so Derby may not be in a rush to sell the ex-Luton Town star unless Shrewsbury submit a tempting offer.
Writer’s View
Warne gave this interview when Collins and Washington were in the team so it’s hard to imagine he is overly keen to allow one of his only two centre-forwards to leave.
Witcoop states that Derby won’t entertain the offer from Shrewsbury unless they sign a replacement but this seems unlikely since the Rams are not currently being linked with another number ‘9’.
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