Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Joey Pelupessy has revealed that he encouraged 27-year-old defender Mike te Wierik to join Derby County. 

Te Wierik saw his move to Pride Park fall through late in the January window but has signed a pre-contract with the Rams and will join the club in August.

Both Derby and Groningen are understood to have been pushing for the deal to be completed but couldn't get the paperwork done in time.

The defender's contract is set to expire with the Dutch side in the summer and Te Wierik will then move to the East Midlands club, having already signed a three-year deal.

The 27-year-old is close friends with Pelupessy and, speaking to The Athletic, the Owls midfielder revealed that he convinced his countryman to join the Rams.

He said: "In January he called me and told me the story about Derby and that he was open to going there and a move was happening. I told him if he got the opportunity he had to go. It’s a nice step for him. Next season we’ll have to swap shirts.”

Te Wierik will be joining another Dutchman, Phillip Cocu, at Pride Park. The Derby boss had a rocky start to life in the Championship but has seen a turnaround in fortunes since the arrival of Wayne Rooney.

Only Fulham have earned more points than Derby in the 12 games since the start of 2020, which bodes well for Cocu's side moving forward.

Can you identify these 15 Derby County players by looking at these pixelated images?

 

 

The Verdict

It appears Derby have Pelupessy to thank for the signing of the 27-year-old.

Only time will tell whether or not the defender will be a success at Pride Park but if he is Wednesday fans my rue the fact their midfielder didn't convince him to move to Hillsborough instead.

On top of everything else, Cocu will surely be pleased to have one signing in the bag already ahead of the summer window.