Derby County are on the brink of signing Matt Clarke on loan from Brighton as the Rams prepare for a new era beginning in earnest on Monday night.

The Rams take on Huddersfield Town in Phillip Cocu's first competitive game in charge in the Sky Bet Championship and will be looking to get a good result against the recently relegated Terriers.

Before then, though, Matt Clarke could well be signed by the club with Tom Barclay providing this promising update from a Rams perspective:

Clarke only signed for Brighton earlier on in the transfer window from Portsmouth but Graham Potter has seen fit to let the 22-year-old go out on loan to Pride Park.

The Verdict

This is a deal that makes sense.

Clarke is a player of considerable talent and if Brighton now feel as though he is not quite ready for the Premier League, going to the Championship to keep his progression going seems logical.

Derby need another centre-half with Fikayo Tomori's loan coming to an end at the end of last season and so Clarke will hope that he can challenge for a first-team spot.

Richard Keogh and Curtis Davis remain at the club and they are both decent options to have going into the new season so this is a move that should improve the squad all-round.