It's been a mixed-bag for Derby County this season, who have struggled to establish themselves as favourites for promotion and have failed to stand-out from a very large crowd of promotion chasing sides.

That makes Steve McClaren's job very difficult heading into 2017 and the second-half of the season, as he must rejuvenate the Rams and find some consistency in order to launch a successful promotion push - and that will mean scouring the market for new recruits in January.

With lower-end Premier League sides and the rest of the promotion-chasing bunch in the Championship to contend with in the transfer market, Derby need to be shrewd with their transfer business and signing Manchester United's Timothy Fosu-Mensah on-loan would be a real statement of intent.

Here, we've identified TWO reasons why McClaren should do everything in his power to land the starlet from Jose Mourinho's giants, as it could genuinely provide the catalyst to success that the Rams are searching for.

Point to prove

With Manchester United regularly breaking the nine-figure mark in the transfer window, Timothy Fosu-Mensah faces a new test every six months at Manchester United.

Despite that, he's still managed to make his mark with nine Premier League appearances since making his debut at the back-end of last season.

However, the 18-year-old needs regular football to excel and he'd have a point to prove if he was to join Derby on-loan, as positive performances would help him stake a claim for more involvement within United's first-team next season.

A young player with a lot of desire can go a long way, so this will tick many boxes for Steve McClaren's side.

Versatility

Capable of playing in the middle of defence, at full-back or in defensive midfield, the teenager's versatility could prove to be a tremendous asset to Steve McClaren in his attempts to get Derby back into the top-flight of English football.

His favoured position is in midfield but he's struggled to earn opportunities there for Manchester United, which goes back to the first point of Fosu-Mensah wanting to prove himself.

With a player amongst the squad capable of filling numerous voids within Derby's line-up, the addition of young Fosu-Mensah may be invaluable.