Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday could go head-to-head to secure the services of Huddersfield Town midfielder Duane Holmes, according to a report from The Sun.

The 28-year-old has been a regular for the Terriers so far this term, making 20 league appearances and recording two assists in the process this season with his impact in the final third being limited.

Scoring six times in all competitions last season, he may need to exceed that total between now and the end of 2022/23 if he wants to give his side the best possible chance of remaining afloat in the Championship beyond the end of this term.

 

 

However, he could be set for a January exit with Derby and Wednesday believed to be two sides interested in luring him to League One, though it's currently unclear whether he would be willing to take the step down.

The American has already plied his trade for Paul Warne's Rams during a two-and-a-half year spell at Pride Park before moving back to the John Smith's Stadium during the early stages of 2021.

He played a part in the East Midlands side's promotion push under Frank Lampard, though it's currently unclear whether he would be welcomed back considering how his spell there ended.

The Verdict:

If he's offered the opportunity to join one or both of these sides, it will be interesting to see what he does because both of these sides could easily be in the second tier again next season.

Wednesday are probably in a stronger position at this point considering they didn't need to rebuild their squad in the summer - and are probably far more settled under Darren Moore than Derby are under Warne at the moment.

Still, the latter shouldn't be written off in the promotion race considering Warne's track record of winning promotion and Holmes has become accustomed to life in the Midlands before.

At the same time, there's a chance neither will be promoted considering the strength of some other sides including Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town.

And there's still time for Holmes to rescue the Terriers with plenty of the season left to go. This World Cup break should allow Mark Fotheringham to spend more time with his players and that will only help in their quest to get out of danger.

If his heart isn't in it though, he should definitely look to move on and both Derby and Sheffield Wednesday would be good options, even though he would need to take the step down to make one of these two moves a possibility during the January transfer window.