Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom urged to snub "silly" Brentford transfer advances | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County Fan Pundit has mixed feelings about the potential departure of Zetterstrom to Brentford

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County's first-choice goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom is reportedly the subject of a lined-up bid from Premier League side Brentford.

The Bees are on the hunt for backup cover to Caoimhin Kelleher, and have the Swedish international in their sights for £3.5 million, according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon.

Zetterstrom joined the Rams from Swedish outfit Djurgardens for an initial fee of around 20 million kroner (£1.5m) plus bonuses last summer, and has started all three of Derby's league games so far in the 2025-26 Championship season.

Derby County would be "silly" to sell Jacob Widell Zetterstrom to Brentford

FLW's Derby County Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, has expressed mixed feelings about the potential departure of Zetterstrom to Brentford.

"Given his age, for a goalie, he’s still very young and he’s still learning his trade. I think it’ll be silly of him to move to the Premier League," Woodward told FLW.

Zetterstrom undoubtedly played a crucial role in helping Derby to Championship survival on the final day of last season against Stoke City, keeping nine clean sheets in 40 league games.

However, Woodward also recognised the obvious pull of Premier League football, even in a backup role.

"I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to go because I think anyone that gets offered a chance of playing in the Premier League - even as a second-choice goalkeeper - because you never know what could happen, then he’d be silly not to take it," Woodward added.

"However, being selfish as a Derby fan, I’d like him to stay, even though I do think Josh Vickers is a very, very capable number two.

29-year-old Vickers found himself called upon towards the back-end of last season, playing six times in the Championship and managing to keep three clean sheets in the process despite being a back-up for most of the campaign.

Derby County need to hold out for "more" before making a decision on Jacob Widell Zetterstrom

The timing of Brentford's approach has raised questions about whether Derby should hold out for more money - the top-flight side replaced Mark Flekken with Liverpool's Kelleher after selling the former for £11m to Bayer Leverkusen.

Woodward believes the East Midlands outfit should demand a higher fee given their initial investment in the keeper and how late on in the transfer window it is.

"It’d be a shame to see him go because we did actually spend a bit of money on him for the future and I think if we were to allow him to leave, I think it would have to be a bit more than £3.5m personally," Shaun concluded.

Before joining Derby, the 6ft 6in Swede made 118 appearances for Djurgardens across all competitions.

Furthermore, his contract runs until 2027, so you'd like to think Brentford will be on the back-foot if any negotiations were to take place - and that's without considering John Eustace's thoughts on the matter.