Widespread reports are suggesting that David Nugent could be on the verge of joining Derby County.

After Derby were linked with Jordan Rhodes for a while, it appears that it could be fellow teammate Nugent who joins instead.

The deal is likely to cost Derby about £3m, which is not a bad fee considering that he is a proven Championship striker and this is the January transfer window, where prices are automatically inflated.

It works for Nugent, too, as he has featured just five times in all competitions for Boro this year, netting once in the cup.

And the transfer benefits Middlesbrough too, as they have just bought Rudy Gestede from Aston Villa for about £6m so they are recouping some of that transfer fee by offloading a peripheral striker.

David Nugent might prove to be a shrewd piece of business by Steve McClaren because he is experienced at Championship level.

He has never been an out-and-out prolific goalscorer like Jordan Rhodes, but if you consider Rhodes will cost about £10m more, then it makes financial sense to settle for Nugent.

The 31-year-old has a relatively decent track record at the likes of Leicester, Burnley, Portsmouth and Preston at this level.

He provides a target up front and will be very useful when rotated with Darren Bent and Matej Vydra.

This should equip Derby well for a promotion push and could even secure them their long-awaited return to the top flight.

But this is just a short-term fix.

If Derby do achieve their goals and win promotion back to the Premier League, then David Nugent will not be the man to keep them there.

They will have to sign at least one new forward and Nugent is likely to be shipped back to the Championship again.

So McClaren needs to prudentially keep this in mind when deciding whether to finalise this deal.

Derby fans - do you agree with this opinion? Would you pay the £3m to get him in? Does it matter that he's not a long-term answer? Let us know in the comments below...