"Desperately needed" - Derby County frustration issued at failed West Brom transfer swoop | OneFootball

FLW spoke to their resident Derby County about the rumours around them just missing out on the capture of John Swift.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County are in a bit of a hole, with their rudderless ship in danger of an immediate return to League One if results do not improve in the near future.

Having afforded Paul Warne the whole of the January window, the Rams hierarchy made the decision to part ways with him last Friday amid a run of seven straight defeats in the league.

At present, they are aiming to replace him with an ambitious move for Blackburn Rovers' John Eustace, having formally approached the Lancashire club, who currently sit sixth in the table.

If Eustace is appointed, it would be a major coup for the Rams, though he would surely have hoped for a stronger squad to work with at Pride Park.

This could have been afforded to him as well, and it was revealed by The Telegraph that Derby missed an opportunity to sign West Bromwich Albion playmaker John Swift in the final hours of the window as a deal fell through.

The 29-year-old had been important for the Baggies in their engine room in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and while his presence has diminished this season, he could still have provided some much-needed quality in a struggling Derby side.

Derby County reaction issued to missing out on John Swift signing

To get a Pride Park point of view on missing out on Swift, Football League World spoke to their Rams pundit, Shaun Woodward, who revealed how disappointed he was at not securing a deal for the midfielder.

"John Swift would have made a massive difference to Derby," Shaun told FLW.

"He is an established Championship player. He would have unlocked defences to give us that little bit of quality and composure in there - something we have lacked all season.

"We have had a lot of close games and haven't had that player who can create a bit of magic to turn those 1-0 defeats into draws or those tight games into victories.

"It was something we desperately needed to address in the January transfer window, which we sadly didn't.

"We are a solid side with a decent spine, but we just haven't got that bit of quality.

"It has been a frustrating window, but hopefully, the new manager - whoever that may be - will come in and get that little bit extra out of the players, which will be just enough to keep us up."

John Swift would have been a game-changer for Derby County in battle against relegation

A player with over 320 appearances in the second tier, Swift would have arrived at Derby with the potential to turn around their season.

In his last three full seasons, he has recorded 27 goals and 24 assists, and he has the ability to both create and convert chances out of nothing.

For a Rams squad struggling for goals, this would have been crucial, with their current top scorer, Jerry Yates, on just seven.

While the summer may offer another opportunity to sign him, with his contract set to expire at The Hawthorns, it could come too late - especially if Derby fail to turn around their dreadful run of form and find themselves relegated by then.