League One outfit Derby County have allowed former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith to come and train with them ahead of a potential move, according to a Patreon report from Alan Nixon.

The 26-year-old had been offered fresh terms to stay put at Hillsborough with Bailey Peacock-Farrell departing the club on the expiration of his loan spell and uncertainty surrounding Cameron Dawson's future.

However, with David Stockdale arriving in South Yorkshire from league rivals Wycombe Wanderers, Wildsmith looked set to be on the bench once again for Darren Moore's side next term.

 

 

One week later, it was confirmed he was departing the third-tier side on the expiration of his deal at the club and has now linked up with the Rams, who are now able to get transfer agreements over the line following their takeover.

The East Midlands side are in desperate need of players across the pitch with their transfer embargo limiting their ability to bring in players during the summer and completely ruling out the possibility of them recruiting anyone during the January transfer window.

Ryan Allsop departed Pride Park on the expiration of his current terms to link up with Championship side Cardiff City and with Kelle Roos leaving for Aberdeen, this has left them with no senior options in the goalkeeping department.

They could be about to add a much-needed player in this position though, with Wildsmith now in the building after the Rams were recently linked with a move for him.

The Verdict:

The 26-year-old doesn't have a huge number of games under his belt considering his age, so it will be interesting to see whether Derby take a gamble on him and have him as their number one stopper.

They are in desperate need of players in several positions and with only five loanees able to be in a matchday squad, Liam Rosenior may want to avoid having a loanee in his goalkeeping department and save them for other areas instead.

Wildsmith has stepped up to the plate reasonably well when required and the fact he was offered a new deal at Hillsborough is encouraging in terms of the quality of player they would be getting, something that will provide real optimism for Derby supporters.

Another option will be required in this area though and ideally, it needs to be someone who can either push the 26-year-old for his starting spot or take the number one jersey for himself.

Good competition will help to maximise performance levels and this can only help the Rams in their quest to get themselves back on track following a torrid past 12 months.