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 are rivalling Championship rivals Preston North End for the signature of Luton Town striker James Collins this summer, per The Telegraph.

The 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and after spending five seasons at Kenilworth Road, the Republic of Ireland international may be on the move.

MLS clubs are also tracking Collins' situation but staying in England may give him a better contract - especially at Derby.

The Rams are short of permanent striking options with just Colin Kazim-Richards and Martyn Waghorn on their books, and Collins could be seen as an alternative to both.

Would he be a good signing for County though? The FLW writers take a look...

Alfie Burns

There’s certainly a need to strengthen Derby’s attacking options this summer, with Collins a good option.

Over the last two seasons, he’s done well in the Championship and you can certainly see why bigger clubs (in terms of stature) might be looking at him.

He’s been a steady source of goals in the Championship over two seasons and would certainly upgrade what Derby currently have on the books.

The only downside is Collins’ age given that he’s now 30.

However, you can look at the other side of that and state that a younger player could also be signed to balance the squad.

All in all, I think it would be a shrewd piece of business.

 

 

 

 

Chris Gallagher

This is very underwhelming from Derby's perspective.
That's not to say Collins isn't a useful player, as he works hard, runs the channels well and can chip in with a few goals. But, he can't get in the Luton starting XI every week, has managed seven goals so far this season and is 30-years-old.
Whilst off-field issues are clearly restricting Derby, Wayne Rooney should be looking to bring in players that will definitely improve the team, with the aim of trying to challenge for the play-offs next season. I don't think Collins does that, so it would be a pretty pointless addition for the Rams.
With his contract expiring in the summer some will argue it's a low-risk move, which is fair enough.
But, Derby don't need to beef up the squad, they need quality, so I would steer well clear of this as he is not better than what they have already, which is saying a lot!

Jacob Potter

I'm not too sure about this one.

Collins has shown that he can score goals at this level, but I think there are better options out there for Derby this summer.

The Rams haven't been anywhere near good enough this season, and have found goals hard to come by under Wayne Rooney's management.

At the age of 30, I have my doubts as to whether Collins is the best option for Derby moving forwards.

One of the positives would likely be the cost of any potential deal, and that could tempt the Rams ahead of the 2021/22 season.