Derby County return to Championship action this evening when they host Leonid Slutsky’s Hull City at Pride Park.

The Rams won two of their opening five matches prior to the season’s first international break to leave them 12th in the division, and already eight points behind leaders Cardiff City.

Victories over Preston North End and Bolton Wanderers have been intertwined with defeats at the hands of Wolves and Sheffield United, with the latter coming just before the fortnight’s interruption to give manager Gary Rowett much to ponder before this evening’s clash with the Tigers.

And the international break also included the final day of the transfer window, and Derby thought they had a deal done to bring Birmingham City’s Maikel Kieftenbeld to Pride Park, only for the club to announce on Thursday that the EFL have not given ratification for the move.

Thus, the 27-year-old must return to St Andrew’s, and with Jacob Butterfield and Craig Bryson sent out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff respectively, Rowett now faces something of a central midfield crisis.

And recent reports suggest that the former Birmingham and Burton Albion chief will look at free agents in a bid to bolster his ranks at the East Midlands outfit, which is news that has stimulated quite a response from Derby fans on Twitter.

And it’s fair to say that they want to see one player in particular make the move to Pride Park…