Derby County are preparing for another tilt at life in the second-tier following their miraculous escape from relegation under John Eustace and could now make a bold statement on the market, according to a report.
Derby look to avoid repeat scenario of close shave with relegation
Avoiding the drop is never an easy feat to achieve when the chips are down. Still, John Eustace will rightfully be heralded as a miracle worker at Pride Park following his side’s turnaround.
Speaking to Football League World, pundit Don Goodman believes Derby can avoid being drawn into a relegation battle next term now that the foundations are in place to help the Rams thrive.
He explained: “I look at the 14 games John Eustace took charge of at the end of last season – six wins and three draws, and that’s despite losing the first three games he took charge of.
“If he accrued that points total over the course of last season that would be 69 points, which would’ve actually been enough for a play-off spot for Derby, remarkably.
“He’s outstanding at organising teams and making them hard to play against and hard to beat, so those are ingredients that will see Derby County not be in a relegation battle.”
Derby County make out-of-window move for "athletic" player in free transfer
John Eustace could be set to link up with a former player at Pride Park.
BySean Markus CliffordMar 7, 2025
Inevitably, Derby will need to pull up some trees on the market to put themselves in a position of relative comfort.
Defensive duo Danny Batth and Dion Sanderson have been linked with moves to Pride Park, but there will be more in the pipeline as Eustace exhausts all avenues to put his mission into place.
Now, the Rams could turn to his former club in an attempt to pull of a statement deal that would definitely enhance their survival prospects, per recent developments.
Derby plotting move for Blackburn Rovers captain Lewis Travis
According to EFL Analysis, Derby are in the mix to sign Blackburn Rovers captain Lewis Travis and Eustace is said to be a big fan of his exploits after working with the 27-year-old at Ewood Park.
Predominantly a defensive midfielder, reports claim it would cost £2 million to prize him away from Lancashire. Meanwhile, Wrexham are also keen to lure him to North Wales.
Lewis Travis in all competitions – 2024/25
Appearances
39
Goals
2
Assists
1
Labelled “fantastic” by David Lowe, Travis is out of contract next summer which may increase pressure on Blackburn to sell their captain this window before his value begins to dwindle on the market.
Intriguingly, he has previously spoken out about his ‘close’ relationship with Eustace, something that may be used as an emotional string to pull on in the event of any negotiations.
Nevertheless, Derby aren’t messing about in their bid to add quality reinforcements and there is no doubt their engine room would drastically improve were Travis to land at Pride Park this summer.
