"A sneaky little bid" - Derby County, Macauley Langstaff transfer regret expressed | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit claims that the club should have gone in for Macaulay Langstaff prior to his move from Notts County to Millwall

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 have been told that they should have plotted a bid for lower league sensation Macaulay Langstaff, who sealed a switch from Notts County to Millwall back in June following two goal-laden seasons in the East Midlands.

The former Gateshead striker scored 71 goals from 97 appearances for Notts County across two seasons, inspiring their ascent back to the English Football League in his debut campaign before finishing as League Two's leading goalscorer in the most recent campaign with 29 strikes.

Langstaff's outstanding form in front of goal promptly earned him a move to the Championship with Millwall, where he has failed to have much of an impact just yet and is still awaiting his first start in league action.

Nonetheless, it is claimed that Langstaff would have represented a strong signing for Derby had they joined the race to prise him away from Meadow Lane, with the Rams' options in the final third still appearing facing questions in spite of a strong start to the season.

Derby County, Macaulay Langstaff transfer regret

Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson were both signed over the summer but neither of them have exactly been well among the goals in recent Championship seasons, and Football League World's resident Rams fan pundit Shaun Woodward believes that Paul Warne should have tested the waters with a bid for Langstaff prior to his switch to Millwall.

"I would have liked us to gone in a got a sneaky little bid in for Macaulay Langstaff," Shaun explained to Football League World.

"He was playing for Notts County just up the road so he wouldn't have had to have moved. I think it would've been perfect for him to come to Derby, next step up to test himself at Championship level.

"He's scored over 100 goals in the last three seasons, albeit at lower levels. I think he would've been someone to have settled in quite well at Derby, suited our game style and been a real focal point for us, natural finisher - he would've been excellent.

"Obviously I don't think we could've probably afforded him but he would've been someone I'd have liked to see come in at the club and really give Yates some competition for that shirt up front."

Derby County would have been a better move for Macaulay Langstaff than Millwall

While Langstaff's departure from the Magpies felt inevitable this summer, it was something of a surprise when he decided to join Millwall.

Langstaff is a diminutive, quick-footed striker who enjoys getting in behind but is very much a penalty box striker with sharp goalscoring instincts, having received stellar creative service at Notts from the likes of Daniel Crowley and Jodi Jones.

The system is starkly different at Millwall, however. Neil Harris largely plays a route-one brand of football which sees the Lions look to pump the ball high and long in transition and have less possession than their opponents, creating fewer chances.

Kevin Nisbet is a fundamentally similar profile to Langstaff but struggled in Harris' system last season and Langstaff just does not appear to figure in the plans of the Lions legend yet either.

There is no guarantee that he would have been a success at Derby, of course, but the locality of the move, the likelihood of more opportunities and a system slightly more befitting and accommodating to his qualities may well have proved to make a switch to Pride Park a better option than Millwall.