Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann has had a lot to say about one of Derby County’s most recent targets previously.
The transfer window doesn’t open for another month but planning is underway at Derby County ahead of their return to the Championship.
Paul Warne has the minor problem of resolving the futures of 12 first-team players – who see their contracts expire in June – before they begin to invest in the playing squad.
Warne claims Derby need quality in every position to survive in the second tier, describing it as the hardest division he’s seen in years.
Luckily, the Rams have been linked with a move for Barnsley midfielder Herbie Kane on a free transfer. The 25-year-old would add some serious quality to their engine room following Max Bird’s permanent departure to Bristol City.
Kane was highly rated in League One last term, producing an impressive nine goals and five assists in 41 appearances, with his former manager Grant McCann waxing lyrical over him.
What Grant McCann has said about Derby County target Herbie Kane
McCann is one man who knows Kane very well having spent time together at Doncaster Rovers and Hull City.
In the 2018/19 campaign, the midfield metronome helped inspire Rovers to a sixth-place finish in League One after arriving on loan from Liverpool, plundering four goals and six assists.
The Northern Irish boss then took Kane on loan to Hull in January 2020, and although the Tigers were eventually relegated to the third tier, McCann was impressed by what the Englishman brought to his midfield.
Speaking to BBC Sport after losing him to a long-term injury, the former Hull manager said: “We’d love to have him back with us next season. He’s everything that we need and everything that I like in a player – with his energy and bravery.
“He can score goals and he’s calm on the ball as well. We’d love to keep him here next year – and possibly longer if we could.”
Herbie Kane can replace Max Bird
Derby finally waved goodbye to academy graduate Bird after 14 years with the club and that has left a giant hole that needs replacing in their midfield.
Fortunately, links to Kane suggest Warne could have found a low-risk yet impactful replacement for the 23-year-old.
Kane can operate in multiple positions centrally, performing as a deep-lying playmaker, box to box or attacking midfielder.
This is handy in Warne’s interchangeable system, with the Derby boss often switching between a 3-4-1-2 or 4-3-3 formation.
Kane’s influence in the Barnsley squad was also exceptional, ranking third for big chances created (7), second for accurate long balls per game (4.5) and first for key passes per game (1.6).
It evinces that the former Liverpool academy graduate, once hailed ‘different class’ by McCann, would slot perfectly into the Rams midfield as a playmaker, perhaps next to a destroyer like Ebou Adams.
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