John Eustace’s first transfer window as Derby County boss has incorporated both frugal signings and more costly ventures. After narrowly avoiding relegation from the Championship last season, the manager is looking to build a team that will solidify their place in the league.
Derby have picked up a number of seasoned EFL players on free transfers, including Richard O’Donnell, Danny Batth and Andreas Weimann, all of whom have at least 300 EFL games under their belts. These players have copious amounts of experience between them, and their level heads may prove the difference between relegation and survival.
Eustace has spent money in the market as well, bringing in Patrick Agyemang for the fourth-highest fee in the club’s history. The 24-year-old was picked up from MLS side Charlotte FC and became their biggest ever departure.
One of the next players on the transfer list looks to be Sturm Graz’s Max Johnston. Johnston may be tempted by a return home to the UK, where he can continue to get noticed by the Scottish national team, who gave him his senior debut back in March. Derby have put in two bids already, both of which have been rebuffed.
Brown loan “green-light”
Football League World have reported that Eustace has made the decision to “green-light a loan move away from Pride Park” for Dajaune Brown for the 2025/26 Championship campaign.
The 19-year-old had previously spent the back half of the 2023/24 season on loan at National League side Gateshead, where he won the FA Trophy. This time around, the loan opportunities are looking to be slightly higher up the English football pyramid, with League One and League Two sides interested.
Last season, Brown attempted to break into the Derby team, but competition for places and being hampered by an injury made it a difficult thing to accomplish. The report adds that “he will be out to prove to Eustace that he is ready for the step up to become an important part of his Derby squad in the future”, suggesting this loan move is to get the attention of his manager rather than to put himself in the shop window.
Brown “not ready for the Championship”
Football League World’s Derby County Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, had previously been lobbying for Eustace to make this decision. While advocating for a loan move for Brown last month, Woodward described the forward as “young and raw”.
Woodward also added: “He’s not ready for the Championship… he’s someone that needs to go out maybe to a League One or League Two side, get a decent season under his belt and come back next pre-season ready to kick on with his career.”
Fans of many clubs in Leagues One and Two have taken to social media to tag their teams in the news in an effort to get them to bring Brown in on loan.
If the fans of the lower league clubs are anything to go by, then there will be no shortage of options for Brown. The challenge will be finding a club where Eustace believes the 19-year-old can develop and that agrees to a preferential financial structure of a loan deal.
