Derby County are poised to make several contract decisions in the coming weeks and the club must hand a new deal to one ‘magnificent’ talent.
Derby are preparing for their first campaign back in the Championship following promotion.
Paul Warne has set his sights firmly on improving most positions in his squad, although he’s concerned about how difficult the step up is going to be, claiming it’s the best the second tier has been in years.
The Rams are left with a lot of work to do in the transfer window, especially given how many players are out of contract.
The Derby County players who are out of contract
Warne needs to make space in his squad by offloading some of his out-of-contract stars this summer.
Although the retained/released list is yet to be announced, speculation has surrounded the future of several Derby players, including top scorer James Collins, midfield maestro Conor Hourihane, academy graduate Louie Sibley and starting goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.
The list comprising 12 players also includes Tom Barkhuizen, Liam Thompson, Korey Smith, Craig Forsyth, Martyn Waghorn, Scott Loach, Darren Robinson and Dwight Gayle.
It remains to be seen which players the club choose to let go however, Gayle is one first-team star the club should offer a new contract.
Derby County should offer Dwight Gayle a new deal
Gayle was captured on a free transfer in February after hearing of Collins’ horrible injury.
The club reacted fast in their pursuit to land a striker and the former Newcastle United marksman hit the ground running at Pride Park.
With his incisive runs in behind and poacher instinct in the box, Gayle scored for three games running against Port Vale, Bristol Rovers and Reading in March.
Sadly, his joy in a Derby shirt was cut short 21 minutes into the 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers, as the 34-year-old was taken off the field with a hamstring injury.
Gayle has since been recovering from that injury and many felt – with his contract expiring – it would be the last time they’d seen him in a Rams shirt.
However, the club should rush to offer him a new contract, as despite his age, the lethal finisher still has a lot to offer in the second tier.
During his time at Newcastle, he was adored by Alan Shearer, with the Premier League’s all-time top scorer labelling him “magnificent”.
The veteran forward seemed to perfectly fit into Warne’s 3-4-1-2 system as he led the line alongside Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, and although the Championship is a much bigger step up, age doesn’t seem to have impacted his scoring touch.
And even if he doesn’t play a lot of first-team minutes, his knowledge of the game will be invaluable to the younger players coming through, as will his promotion experience.
It therefore seems a no-brainer to offer him a short-term deal and let him continue his career in the second tier.
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