Derby County must keep preying on Hull City uncertainty to land John Eustace transfer win | OneFootball

The Derby manager John Eustace would love to be reunited with one of his former players, but there may be challengers for the signing from France.

Derby County manager, John Eustace, worked with Hull City full-back Cody Drameh at Birmingham City and wants to reunite with him, but he's going to need to keep the pressure on, if he wants to make this move happen.

Following a narrow escape from relegation to League One at the end of the 2024/25 season, Derby and Eustace will be looking hard at reinforcements for this summer.

And one player whose name has already been linked with a move to Pride Park is the Hull defender Drameh, with whom Eustace crossed paths with in Birmingham.

Derby's first move for Drameh has already been rejected

Pete O'Rourke has already reported that Hull have rejected a request from Derby to take Drameh on a season-long loan.

Drameh signed for Hull in July 2024 on a three-year contract after rejecting a new deal with his parent club Leeds, with the option for a fourth year. That they should have turned down the loan is unsurprising. Drameh is contracted to Hull for at least a further two years.

Considering that Derby and Hull finished 19th and 20th in the Championship respectively last season, it is understandable that they wouldn't sanction giving up a player who made 28 appearances in the league last season to a team who could be relegation rivals again next time around.

But Hull are an uncertain club at the moment. They're currently managerless, and a combination of this lack of stability and the opportunity to reunite with a former coach who clearly values him as a player could appeal to Drameh. In addition to this, he was only a bit-part player over the closing weeks of the 2024/25 season, playing just 73 minutes throughout their final 16 games of the season.

However, there can be little doubting his experience at this level. While contracted to Leeds and prior to signing for Hull, he played for three different Championship clubs on loan.

Figures from Sofascore

Derby may face opposition from abroad to secure Drameh's signature

The French football website Footmercato has reported that two Ligue Un clubs, Stade de Reims and Toulouse, are both interested in signing Drameh this summer.

These two clubs are in somewhat different positions in the French League. Toulouse are comfortable in mid-table, but Stade de Reims are only three points above the relegation places with two matches to play and could yet get relegated.

But although he's a Gambian international, Drameh was born in London and the idea of moving abroad to play doesn't appeal to everybody. Reuniting with a former coach who clearly values him as a player can appeal in a completely different way, and Derby's early interest in him demonstrates that he matters to Eustace. The managerial upheaval on Humberside will only increase uncertainty.

By keeping the pressure on Hull, the manager could yet end up with a defender that he clearly covets. The failure to secure him with a loan deal may have been a disappointment for John Eustace, but the summer's transfer dealings have only just begun.