After a poor start to the season, Derby County sit 20th in The Sky Bet Championship, a start which lead to Nigel Pearson being sacked, after just 11 games.
Derby are very strong in central midfield and in Will Hughes, they have one of the best young centre midfielders in the country.
Hughes made his Rams debut in 2011 and has since gone on to make 134 appearances for the club.
Hughes’ career has been blighted with injury, his most recent injury coming at the start of last season when he damaged his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, keeping him out for nearly a full season.
Hughes is comfortable to have the ball and likes to keep possession for his team, whilst being able to create chances for his team mates and even score the odd goal.
Despite being around for years, Hughes is still only 21, meaning he still has plenty of room for improvement.
If Hughes is to leave Derby in January, I think they should sign these THREE players to replace him…
Alex Mowatt
The 21-year-old broke into the Leeds first team in 2013 and has been a main stay in the squad ever since.
Despite being just 21, Mowatt has already racked up, over 100 first team appearances for Leeds.
With an eye for goal from midfield, Mowatt is a rarity, goal scoring midfielders are hard to come across.
Taking into account his age, he still has plenty of learning to do and working with experienced coach, Steve McClaren, he would massively improve.
The Leeds midfielder is also quite versatile, with Leeds boss, Garry Monk, recently playing him on the wing.
The Rams would need to fork out a considerable amount of money to sign Mowatt, but he would be an investment for the future as well as quality for the present.
Jordon Mutch
Mutch has fell down the pecking order in the Palace midfield and could seek a move away from The Eagles, in a bid to find regular football.
Tidy on the ball, Mutch would slot straight into McClaren's Derby side if they were to sign him.
Mutch, 24, has Championship experience, he was part of the Cardiff side that was promoted in 2012/13.
Since then Mutch has been plying his trade in the Premier League with Cardiff, QPR and currently, Crystal Palace.
His experience of playing at the highest level would be a huge boost too Derby as he would bring some more quality to their already, strong midfield.
Now could be an ideal opportunity for Derby to sign Mutch, with him not making their matchday squads, he could look to force a move through himself.
Aron Gunnarsson
The Icelandic international has been a feature in Cardiff’s team over the past five years.
Gunnarsson has racked up nearly 200 appearances for the Bluebirds scoring 20 goals in that time, not a bad return for a defensive midfielder.
Gunnarsson is a good player with the ball and without.
He isn’t scared to make a tackle and when he wins it back, he is able to keep the ball or even find a killer pass when needed.
He also comes equipped with a giant throw, a weapon that can come in handy for any team.
With Cardiff struggling near the bottom of the table with Derby, he might see Derby with a better chance of climbing the table, not to mention the enormity of Derby County as a club.