This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County have taken Tom Carroll on trial after he failed to agree a new contract with Queens Park Rangers, according to DerbyshireLive.

The 29-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has left Loftus Road made 22 Championship appearances last season but missed much of the campaign through injury.

Carroll was offered an extension in west London but has decided to explore his options instead, and he could feature for Wayne Rooney's side in a pre-season friendly against Salford City this weekend.

With Derby limited to just five signings right now by the EFL, would Carroll be a needed addition to Rooney's side? The FLW team have had their say.

Billy Mulley

This is definitely a decent signing if Derby can manage to drag it over the line.

Carroll is a classy operator and can really help a side dictate play, with his ability to retain possession and understanding of when to inject a bit of pace into play.

For Derby once again, the ultimate objective is building a team that can survive this year and the signing of Carroll would certainly help achieve that.

He is a player who will never shy away from receiving the ball and does his best stuff when collecting the ball from deep.

He offers something a little bit different to what Derby currently have too. He is a creative spark but from a much deeper position than is normally associated with a creator of chances.

This is definitely a signing that will improve the squad and in these desperate times, that is a necessity.

 

 

Adam Jones

Tom Carroll's ability to play out wide as well as in the middle could serve Derby well, especially with their lack of squad depth at the moment.

However, his lack of playing time in recent years should be a slight concern for Wayne Rooney. The Rams aren't in a position to be picky, but one of their top requirements for any free agent or loanee must be reliability.

Although the EFL have relaxed their embargo rules, they're only allowed to bring in five players as things stand and they need the players they do have to stay injury-free. Because of this, they need to be wise in who they recruit.

It seems like Curtis Davies, Andre Wisdom and Ravel Morrison will take up three of those spots, with Sone Aluko also impressing against Manchester United at the weekend.

Ideally, they need a new striker but if Rooney wants to play one up top, there's no point in them bringing in Sam Baldock, so I would definitely sign Carroll over the former Brighton and Hove Albion striker who is also training with the Championship club.

The central midfielder needs to prove his fitness first though and if he can stay fit, this could be a shrewd signing for Rooney's men.

Alfie Burns

The situation Derby find themselves in this summer means that they are going to have to take whatever they can get in terms of recruits ahead of the new season.

For what it is worth, Carroll could turn out to be a really good bit of business, but the situation surrounding the Rams remains a sorry one given they find themselves scratching around for freebies.

Carroll, though, could be a decent addition.

He's strong in possession and has a lot of experience under his belt. Of course, there are concerns about how much football he's played over the last couple of years due to injuries, but he's hardly the worst free agent Derby could be taking on.

Rooney has some exciting young options in the middle of midfield and throwing Carroll into the mix with them could really boost that department.

Derby need to make the most of a bad situation. Carroll's potential addition is doing that.