Ali Al-Hamadi and Ben Jackson should be among those on Derby County's transfer shortlist right now | OneFootball

The Rams have made enjoyed a decent return to the Championship, and will already be looking towards the January window.

Derby County have been one of the surprise packages in the Championship so far this season.

While their away form has not quite been what supporters had been hoping for, at home, the Rams have been near-perfect.

Paul Warne's side have won four of their five matches at Pride Park in 2024/25, losing only to Norwich City and conceding just three goals along the way.

Derby have always boasted good form at home, and despite having this impressive start, both the management team and supporters will be turning their heads towards the January transfer window as the Rams look to strengthen their squad.

Football League World has taken a look at three players that could be on Warne's radar this winter, as the East Midlands-based club look towards survival in their first season back in the Championship in two years.

Ali Al-Hamadi

A player that will perhaps be on the radar of many this January, Ali Al-Hamadi, has struggled for game time since joining Ipswich Town at the start of 2024.

He has made less than 20 appearances since making the switch to East Anglia, scoring just five goals in all competitions, and is yet to start in the Premier League, instead watching on from the sidelines as Liam Delap leads the line.

The Iraq international has not appeared in a matchday squad since the third game of the season, and has played just over 30 minutes in the Premier League in the first seven matches of the campaign.

The Rams seemingly missed out on the 22-year-old in the summer, instead signing his Tractor Boys teammate, Marcus Harness, on loan. Reuniting the two should be one of Warne's targets for January as the Rams are lacking goals from their forward-line.

While Jerry Yates has been impressive with his link-up play and all round performances, his goal-scoring statistics have been negligible so far, and Derby will want to find someone who can start finding the back of the net regularly.

Ben Jackson

Ben Jackson has been superb in League Two since joining Barrow AFC in the summer from Huddersfield Town, and is quickly showing why he has 45 Championship appearances to his name already.

The 23-year-old left-back made the switch to the Bluebirds in a search for more game-time, despite playing 25 times for the Terriers in 2023/24. Nevertheless, the move is already paying off.

Jackson leads the way in the assists table currently with five from his first 11 appearances, and is someone that would fit in perfectly at Derby with the team lacking a bit of cover at left-back at this moment in time.

Callum Elder's early season injury has shown the lack of depth the Rams have in that department, with the 35-year-old Craig Forsyth the only other natural left-back at the club, while Ben Osborn can come in from midfield when needed.

However, with Jackson's talent so obvious, and at just 23, he could be the perfect player to take up that role at Pride Park going forward, despite only moving to Barrow at the start of the season.

Will Lankshear

Tottenham Hotspur's Will Lankshear is one of the North London club's best young talents, and at just 19 years of age, he has already made his debut in European competition.

He made the bench in Spurs' last two Premier League matches before the international break after recovering from an injury picked up at the start of the season.

The teenage forward scored 18 goals in just 19 Premier League 2 matches last season for Tottenham's U21s side, and while his minutes have been extremely limited for the development team this year, he has proven why he is so highly rated, scoring a stunning goal against Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy in August.

While it may be a bit of a risk to bring in a player with relatively little senior experience, Derby will be hoping to lower the age of their squad even further, and bringing Lankshear in on loan will only help that.

Lankshear could provide respite for Yates, who is currently operating as the Rams' sole striker, with minutes for Dajaune Brown and James Collins hard to come by.

Derby have had great success with loans from the Premier League in the past, and with the 19-year-old's ceiling extremely high, Pride Park could be a fantastic place for his career to start blossoming.