Rams head coach Paul Warne wants to add more fire-power and has his sights on Georgie Kelly should he slip down the pecking order under Matt Taylor
Derby County are five games into their 2023-24 season and it’s clear to see what positions they need to address in the final week and a half of the transfer window.
Whilst transfer speculation regarding defender Eiran Cashin remains as he continues to be linked with a move to the Premier League with Brighton & Hove Albion, it is at the other end of the pitch where the Rams need to add fresh faces.
Head coach Paul Warne has been somewhat luckless in the transfer market when it comes to strikers – he has added Martyn Waghorn back to the squad and also raided former club Rotherham United for Northern Ireland international Conor Washington but there is still some pace and energy missing in the final third.
Warne will no doubt have targets lined up though before the window slams shut at 11pm on September 1, and there is every chance that he could return to the New York Stadium to land another player he signed for Rotherham.
According to Sunday Mirror Sports Editor Darren Witcoop, County are watching developments very closely at Matt Taylor’s side in regards to their hunt for a new striker, with Luton Town’s Admiral Muskwe linked with a switch to the club.
And Derby are interested because they are keeping tabs on the situation of Georgie Kelly, who is likely to get pushed down the pecking order once more if a new attacker arrives in South Yorkshire and Warne is keen on potentially adding the 26-year-old Irishman to his squad.
Who is Georgie Kelly?
Starting his career at Derry City, Kelly’s goalscoring exploits started with a move to University College Dublin in 2018, where he netted 37 goals in 68 outings in the second tier of Irish football.
Kelly made a move to the top flight with Dundalk in 2018 but after a decent 2019 season where he scored 14 times, he soon slipped down the pecking order and joined St Patrick’s Athletic in 2020 on loan.
In 2021, Bohemians signed Kelly on a permanent deal and his 26-goal haul in 40 outings attracted the attention of English clubs, with Rotherham bringing him to League One in January 2022.
Kelly barely featured in his first half-season with the club with just one appearance and one goal but he played 31 times in 2022-23, albeit he was more often than not brought off the bench in those appearances.
What is Georgie Kelly’s current situation at Rotherham?
Whilst Kelly played 29 times in the Championship for the Millers last season and scored four goals, the majority of those outings came as a substitute.
The Irishman is at least second fiddle behind Jordan Hugill at the New York Stadium and came off the bench in United’s first two Championship matches of the season.
Kelly is still contracted to Rotherham until June 2025, but any move by Derby for him could see him not featuring for a number of months.
That is because he suffered a training ground injury last week which could keep him on the sidelines for a period of time, with Taylor confirming a visit to a specialist is needed to diagnose the problem Kelly has suffered.
