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…

The January transfer window is going to potentially be the biggest one in the career of Derby County’s Tom Lawrence with the attacker needing to weigh up his long-term future. 

Football League World believes that the likes of Watford, Norwich City, Burnley and West Brom are all potentially interested in making a move for Lawrence during the winter window. That comes with the Wales international enjoying a good season with the Rams firing home five goals and providing three assists in 19 league appearances. 

Lawrence could be set to leave Derby during the January transfer window to try and ease some of the financial pressure on the Rams. That means that he could get the chance to decide where the best possible destination is for him to thrive in the next few years.

With that in mind, we asked some of our FLW writers which club they feel would be the best move for Lawrence at this stage out of Watford, Norwich, Burnley and West Brom…

Josh Cole

Whilst Tom Lawrence has demonstrated that he is more than capable of competing in the Championship, he may not be good enough to make the step up to the Premier League.

Taking this into consideration, it could be argued that he may find it difficult to force his way into contention for a starting role for Norwich City, Burnley and Watford.

Instead of sealing a switch to one of these aforementioned sides, Lawrence ought to consider moving to West Brom who are currently fighting for promotion in the Championship.

Capable of playing in several different attacking positions, the Wales international could be utilised regularly by Valerien Ismael as the Baggies look to challenge AFC Bournemouth and Fulham for a top-two finish in the second-tier.

 

 

Ned Holmes 

Any of the three Premier League teams will likely be Lawrence's preference because it's hard to say with any certainty that West Brom will win promotion this term.

He does seem a player tailormade to be a wide forward in Ismael's system but you have to think the pull of the top flight will be too strong.

It's hard to pick between the Premier League trio. Burnley are the most established and Lawrence could flourish playing alongside their physical forwards but he'd have no shortage of defensive work to do there.

 Norwich and Watford are more attack-focussed sides and that could allow him to play his natural game.

 Dean Smith's Canaries might just be the best fit for him but it is certainly tight.

Adam Jones 

The one thing that has been lacking from his game over the years is consistency, so it remains to be seen if he can adapt to the Premier League.

Nonetheless, he has led Derby admirably through a tough time and has the attitude required to elevate himself to the top tier of English football. He has magical moments and we've seen that - but whether he can produce them on a regular basis will decide whether he can be a success at a club like West Brom.

They need as many of their players as possible to step up and record goal contributions consistently to solve their chronic lack of cutting edge in front of goal - something that could prove to be the difference between automatic promotion and the play-offs.

Stepping up to the Premier League in January might be overwhelming, so joining a team like Albion that can allow him to stay in the second tier for now before potentially reaching the top flight could be the ideal move for him, giving him the pre-season to prepare for top-tier football.

In saying that, he's 27 now and will want to get to the Premier League as soon as possible, so Lawrence may disagree with me and opt to take the step up, something you couldn't hold against him if he gets an offer.