Derby County boss Paul Warne has revealed that he, as well as some of the wider coaching team, will be attending some games on mainland Europe to further shape next season’s squad.
The Rams would achieve promotion on the final day of the League One season after beating relegated Carlisle United 2-0. Their result wouldn’t have mattered too much however given that Bolton Wanderers would only draw with Peterborough United, meaning that Warne’s side would finish five points clear of third.
Although they would miss out on the title, the club’s overall aim was achieving promotion. The return to the Championship next season ends a two-year stay in the third tier, and Warne will be looking to hit the ground running.
As expected straight after the commencement of their season, the focus has already been shifted to next year. In order to be competitive in the Championship, and ensure their safety, the Rams will need to bolster their ranks. That does seem as if it is something that they’re already on top on though, with the coaching team having a plan in place for the summer.
Numerous targets have supposedly already been identified and it is understood that Paul Warne as well as some of his coaching staff will be making trips to both the Netherlands and Denmark to watch the potential targets in person.
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Warne outlined his plans for the next couple of months.
“Planning is a word that covers a lot of stuff, really. We’ve had recruitment meetings since January. We tried to sign players in the January window. For the last few weeks – to be fair, I’ve bullied it, really and said don’t recruit for League One, try and recruit for the Champ and if we don’t go up automatically, we’ll have a two week window to rejig the list.
“Say there were ten strikers we were after – the top three are Champ only, the bottom three are League One only, the middle four are either or. When people say are there Championship lists and League One lists: they’re all sort of the same. The talks with agents, the watching of games, has all been taking place.
“We have to look at the free list, really, which everyone else will look at, but the Championship one isn’t out until the end of the month. There are games in Holland that me and my staff are going to, there’s a game in Denmark that we’re going to, to watch these certain players. I met a player yesterday, and I’m meeting another player either today or next week.”
Writer’s View
It’s a given that signings are needed in order for the Rams to be competitive in the second tier and it seems that Warne has been getting to work for quite a while.
Perhaps exploring the wider continent rather than just the EFL could benefit the club both for next season as well as the future and they might be able to unearth one or two gems on their continental trip.
A couple of decent signings could help the Rams to achieve a decent finish next season as they already have the foundations of a strong squad. It’s now all about getting the recruitment right and pushing on.
