Ex-brewer Clare linked to Rams but QPR could be leading the chase
AND A CHANCE FOR TEEN TO SHINE IN NORTHERN IRELAND TRAINING CAMP
DERBY County are facing a busy summer as they prepare for another promotion push.
The transfer window opens next month, with head coach Paul Warne set to reshape his squad, while the pre-season schedule is beginning to take shape.
While it is quiet before the storm, here is my latest Rams notebook.
■Pride Park pitch work
Fresh from winning an award for the best pitch in League One last season, work on the surface at Pride Park Stadium has begun ahead of the new season.
The Rams’ pitch was unrivalled in the division and left an impression on rival managers and referees who were asked to vote which they felt was the best.
Paul Thompson, the club’s head groundsman, and
his team did a magnificent job and now they are getting ready for the League One campaign.
Derby do hire their pitch out to companies and teams but those events have now finished with academy games last weekend being the last time it was used.
Now it is being prepared for next season which will see it reseeded, with the Rams having plenty of breathing space ahead of the friendly clash against Stoke City next month.
■Darren Robinson chance to impress
Darren Robinson will be aiming to push towards the Rams first team next season and many are excited by the teenager’s potential.
And now the 18-year-old midfielder has a chance to make an impression on Northern Ireland boss Michael O’neill.
Robinson has been at a training camp with the senior squad which was organised by O’neill ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Denmark and Kazakhstan.
It is one of two camps organised, with the first being specifically for players whose seasons ended more than a fortnight ago.
It will give Robinson a flavour of the international set-up, similar to last year when he did the same under Ian Baraclough.
Two players from the NIFL Premiership, Larne striker Lee Bonis and Glentoran winger Conor Mcmenamin, have also been invited to the first camp.
Bonis was linked with a move to the Rams earlier this month having won rave reviews for his performances.
Much of the focus in the training camp will be on maintaining fitness and sharpness levels.
■QPR backed for Clare
The transfer window is just around the corner which means fun and games for all the fans as names crop up on a weekly basis.
And the latest as far as the Rams are concerned is Sean Clare, who was released by Charlton Athletic at the end of the season. He had a loan spell with Burton Albion in 2021.
The Rams have put wing-backs on their priority list this summer and Clare can play that position, having featured 49 times this season.
QPR are said to be rivalling the Rams for Clare’s signature and former England midfielder Carlton Palmer believes a move to Loftus Road does make sense.
“Sean Clare of Charlton Athletic has been released but he’s attracting a lot of attention from certain Championship and League One clubs, Derby and QPR to name two,” he told Football League world.
“I think given the fact he’s been released by a League One club it’s hard to see how you can make the step up to the Championship. However, in QPR’S case, with the budget likely to be tight and the need for a right-back, it might make sense in signing him on a free transfer.”