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 manager Phillip Cocu is looking at ways to strengthen his squad with the Rams considering making a move for Norwich City striker Shae Hutchinson, according to reports from the Daily Mirror (16/01, page 53).
Hutchinson has not made a first-team appearance for the Canaries, but scored for their Under-21s against League One Oxford in the EFL Trophy in September and is understood to be out of contract at Carrow Road in the summer.
So would Hutchinson be a good addition at Pride Park and is he actually needed by Phillip Cocu's side?
We discuss..........
Ethan Van Ristell
"The 19-year-old forward is in search of regular first-team minutes, and Derby could be willing to offer it to him if the rumours that have surfaced are correct.
"Hutchinson has progressed through the Norwich City academy, and has been featuring for their Under-23 side this season in the second division of the Premier League 2 competition. He has been scoring goals on a regular basis for the Young Canaries, netting twice against Aston Villa in his last league outing.
"The obvious question here is can Hutchinson make the step up to men's football? The 19-year-old has yet to make a senior appearance for Norwich.
"Derby are also not short of options upfront, which could make it difficult for the youngster to break into the first-team at Pride Park. Hutchinson definitely has shown his potential, but I have doubts about whether he would get many opportunities under Phillip Cocu."
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Jacob Potter
"Do they really need another striker?
"I’m not doubting for one second that Hutchinson isn’t capable of coping with the demands of senior football in the Championship, but I think he’d be well down the pecking order in the Derby squad.
"Phillip Cocu already has the likes of Martyn Waghorn, Chris Martin and Jack Marriott available to him this season, so Hutchinson would be used on a rotational basis at best.
"Derby have recently lost Krystian Bielik to a season-ending injury and their priorities should lie with a defender now, not an attacker.
"This would be a poor move for both parties involved here I fear."
Toby Wilding
"It looks like there are plenty of different issues to consider with this one.
"On the one hand, when you look at the options Derby currently have available to them with the likes of Waghorn, Marriott, Bennett, Martin, and now Rooney, it could be argued that they do not exactly need another striker at this moment in time.
"But with none of those really firing on all cylinders so far this season, it could be argued that actually another goalscorer could be needed at Pride Park, although it would be a lot of pressure to put on someone such as Hutchinson, as he moves into senior football for the first time in his career.
"Even so, that doesn't mean he couldn't make that impact in the future, given his impressive record at youth level, meaning this may be worth looking into for the Rams."