Paul Warne has reiterated his desire to add a striker to his Derby County side as they look to continue their push for promotion from League One this season. 

Speaking to the media ahead of their game with West Ham, Warne confirmed that he is still in the market for a striker but he will not be pressured into signing one for the sake of it.

The deadline for making signings is on Tuesday when the transfer window closes at 11pm with clubs up and down the country scrambling to improve their squads.

Derby have already signed Tony Springett on loan from Norwich on loan until the end of the season and the Rams are assessing their options in the market.

But bringing players is difficult as he looks for quality to improve a group that have been flying in recent weeks.

Speaking to Derbyshire Live, he said: "We're trying to bring a striker in that suits us and suits the way we play. If we can't, then we can't, there's no point in just going to get a striker for strikers' sake."

Warne is keen to ensure that his side doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past, with squad harmony a huge factor in his decision-making.

"That's the problem with January and I don't like the January window. It is literally there for mistakes that have been made in the previous summer because that's really what you're doing which is trying to correct what went wrong.

"We have a substantial amount left of the budget available but it has to improve what we've got and if it isn't going to improve what we got then I'm not going to spend it."

Derby currently have James Collins and David McGoldrick at their disposal and are down one forward after Will Osula was recalled by Sheffield United earlier this month.

 

 

The Verdict

It's not a surprise to hear that Warne is being pragmatic with the approach to the January transfer window.

Derby have made plenty of expensive mistakes when it comes to signing in January, and clubs shouldn't have to feel pressured into buying if they don't need.

If a hand is forced, then it makes sense. For Derby, that isn't the case. They have a versatile squad that has shown already this season that it can cope with being moved around and playing different systems.

That will play in Warne's mind which will no doubt what they do in the remaining time left in the January window.