GARY’S DOUBTS OVER MAIKEL CAPTURE
WHILE Derby County are still keen on Maikel Kieftenbeld, boss Gary Rowett admits a move for the Dutchman will be difficult due to his increased importance at Birmingham under Steve Cotterill.
The 27-year-old midfielder was on the verge of joining the Rams in the summer, only for a hold-up with the paperwork to cause the deal to collapse.
Rowett had expressed an interest in going back in for Kieftenbeld in January, but with Cotterill having played him regularly since replacing Harry Redknapp, a deal seems less likely.
Rowett said: “I think the scenario is this: you can never look into the future and say ‘we will be signing Maikel Kieftenbeld’ because at the end of the day, he’s a Birmingham player.
“They’ve had a new manager go in and I’m sure, with Maikel having played most of their games since and actually been one of their better players, in my opinion, over that period, will they want to lose one of their better players in the position they’re in at the moment? I’d say probably not.
“So, I think things have changed massively. It doesn’t mean to say we don’t still like someone like Maikel as a player.
“But he is Birmingham’s player and we won’t divulge really what we’re going to do with anyone.
“But I think that was probably something at the time that was more pressing than it necessarily is now.”
Meanwhile, Rowett explained that Derby will not be splashing the cash in January to boost their promotion chances.
“I couldn’t complain about the squad or the fact we haven’t got a vast amount of transfer money to spend because we have done that over the years and it is about maximising those players and getting the most out of them, which is what we’ve attempted so far,” he said.