Even though Derby County is now enjoying their second-place status in League One, their upper-level problems have not yet been resolved.
Due to a mounting number of injuries among the Pride Park center-forwards, Paul Warne was forced to play Nathaniel Mendez-Laing up top in his team’s close 1-0 victory against Stevenage over the weekend. The more naturally suited winger was brought in as a temporary striker.
In addition to losing 18-goal standout James Collins to injury, the Rams are also missing players like Martyn Waghorn and Conor Washington. Warne is allegedly pressing for a deal to be made with free-agent forward Dwight Gayle in order to bolster Derby’s offensive line.
However, if the Rams had just been more aggressive during the transfer window, they could have been able to sign an intriguing Gayle substitute, who is currently making a strong impression for one of Derby’s fiercest contenders for promotion.
When Derby wanted to sign Callum Lang
Last month, Derby was in the running to recruit Callum Lang, a former attacker for Wigan Athletic. Sadly, Warne’s team lost out to Portsmouth in the signing of Lang.
Unable to sign Michael Smith and Lee Gregory as well, the promotion aspirants actually had a limited window of opportunity, particularly in terms of strengthening their center-forward positions.
With injuries mounting, Lang’s signing would have significantly improved the Rams and filled holes in several trouble spots since he could play both down the flank and as a second striker.
Even though Gayle has a lengthy experience as a prolific EFL sharpshooter, there’s no assurance that, should he sign with Pride Park, he will light up the landscape after a dry spell at Stoke City.
Conversely, the former Wigan player has helped Pompey overtake Derby for second place at Fratton Park by stepping up his play almost instantly.
Lang’s current numbers with Portsmouth
Even though Lang doesn’t have the same reputation as Gayle for being a pure goal scorer, his confidence in front of goal has made the 25-year-old an immediate fan favourite on the South Coast.
Lang has scored three of his five goals in League One this season while wearing a Pompey uniform. The £5.4k per week attacker scored those goals during a recent mini five-game purple patch.
The former Latics attacker scored one of those goals in his team’s convincing 4-1 victory over Reading this past weekend. He also emerged victorious in four duels to aid in the victory.
Contrarily, Gayle scored just three goals in a woeful 50 games for Stoke, demonstrating the 34-year-old’s lack of a clinical edge as his career unavoidably comes to an end.
Although the former Newcastle player’s viciousness in front of goal might be exposed once more, Derby will still be kicking themselves for not pursuing Lang more aggressively.
Given Gayle’s own propensity for injuries—she missed as many as 156 days of play in 2019–20—the 25-year-old’s current exploits for Pompey could see John Mousinho’s formidable South Coasters leave Derby in the dust in the race for the third-tier championship. Meanwhile, the Rams may be running out of steam amid even more potential injuries.
Warne is anxious to get Gayle through the door now so he will at least have another striker option he can call upon in the short term, but he will put any failure to land Lang on hold for the time being.
