Things off to a frantic start with three new faces and two more secured
WITH Clowes Developments’ takeover confirmed, Derby County wasted no time in announcing a first raft of signings.
The squad was five names bigger by the end of Saturday evening and there will be plenty more to come, assuredly.
The first arrival, that of Tom Barkhuizen, the former Preston North End forward, had been much rumoured and came as no surprise.
Soon, he had been joined by goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith and experienced winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Out of contract defender Eiran Cashin and midfielder Liam Thompson cheered Rams fans by agreeing deals to stay with the club by the end of the day.
The Rams drip-fed the announcements through Saturday, keeping fans refreshing their social media feeds.
Barkhuizen has signed a twoyear deal after his contract at Deepdale expired at the end of June.
He had been with Preston for five-and-a-half years and made over 200 appearances for the club.
Barkhuizen, who began his career with his home-town club, Blackpool, and has also played for Morecambe, operated along the front line fro Preston.
His versatility will be useful to interim manager Liam Rosenior as he rebuilds the club in League One.
The Rams were without a senior goalkeeper after the departures of Kelle Roos and Ryan Allsop, so getting one in was a priority and that man is Joe Wildsmith, also on a two-year deal.
Wildsmith had turned down a new deal with Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the season.
He was second choice at Hillsborough and had made only three appearances in the Owls’ League One campaign last season.
Wildsmith will look to get his career back on track at Pride Park in League One.
At 26, he had made 93 appearances for Wednesday, with two games each for Barnsley and Alfreton Town in loans.
A whirlwind afternoon was capped with the signing of Mendez-Laing, a 30-year-old who has “done the rounds.”
He has also left Sheffield Wednesday with the expiring of his contract.
The Owls were his ninth club after starting his career as a trainee with Wolves in 2009.
His longest stay was four years with Cardiff City, which yielded 92 appearances and 14 goals.
In all, 175 of his 353 career appearances have come in League One and he has 50 career goals, 24 of them in League One, along with 25 assists.
As cheering as any news for the long-suffering Derby supporters was the announcement that defender Eiran Cashin has signed a new two-year deal.
His breakthrough to the senior
team last season brought much praise and a Republic of Ireland Under-21 call-up.
He finished the campaign partnering veteran centre-back Curtis Davies for Derby and most fans will hope Davies is among the next announcements.
It had been thought Cashin might be among those moving on but the 20-year-old told Rams TV: “I’ve been here since I was six and seven years old, officially signing at 11.
“I have been here for ages, so Derby feels part of me.
“I thought I did well in the first team and it was a shame about what happened in terms of relegation but now we can put that behind us, kick on and try to get back into the Championship.”
Cashin has made 18 appearances for the Rams, scoring one goal. Next on the list was Thompson. The 20-year-old has also extended his stay at the club by two years.
After impressing in the academy last season, Thompson went on to make 24 appearances for the senior side.
Without doubt, more deals will have been discussed, probably agreed already.
Today is almost certain to be another busy day.