The fee Derby County will have to pay to land Sturm Graz defender Max Johnston | OneFootball

The fee Derby County will have to pay for Sturm Graz defender Max Johnston has been revealed.

The fee that Derby County will have to pay for Strum Graz for defender Max Johnston has been revealed, as the Rams prepare a third bid for the Scotsman.

John Eustace's side have got off to a slow start in the Championship, and are yet to score a point in their opening two games. A 5-3 home loss to Coventry City on Saturday showed there's still plenty of room for improvement, despite a strong summer window thus far.

One man who is on the radar of the Rams is Sturm Graz full-back Johnston, with two bids from the Championship club of £1.4m and £1.6m being turned away by the Austrian Bundesliga outfit.

According to the latest reports from Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, these two bids were well short of the Austrian Champions' valuation of the player, which is said to be £2m.

With crucial games coming up, Sturm Graz are reportedly unwilling to sell Johnston for less than their valuation, meaning Derby will have to match this with their third bid if they want to secure their target.

The fee Derby County will have to pay for Max Johnston revealed

The former Motherwell starlet has been in Austria since 2023, becoming a key part of Sturm Graz's side, and even gaining some experience in European competitions, as well as the Scottish national team in 2025.

However, Derby remain keen on bringing the 21-year-old back to the United Kingdom, but have seen two bids worth £1.4m and £1.6m turned away by the Graz-based club, which has been a bitter setback for the Rams.

As revealed by Nixon on Sunday, Eustace's side will have to meet a valuation of £2m to bring Johnston to Pride Park. Sturm Graz have a Champions League qualifier coming up, and are reportedly unwilling to budge on their valuation of the player because of this.

The journalist also reported that the amount Derby are willing to pay is £1.6m, which was already turned down, so it's unclear whether they will cave and match the fee demanded by their Austrian counterparts.

Landing Max Johnston could be a great piece of business for Derby County

If the valuation is met, Derby reportedly have a juicy £18,000-per-week contract ready for Johnston, in what could be a very good deal for both the club and the player by all accounts.

At 21, the full-back has so much room for growth, and already comes with an excellent pedigree thanks to his European experience, and success in Austria, having won two successive Bundesliga titles.

Having broken into the Scottish national team as well, Johnston has all the minerals to develop even further at Pride Park, and get himself on the radar of clubs higher up the food chain.

With that in mind, Derby will likely be thinking of a potentially huge payday later down the line, if Johnston becomes a huge success, making that £2m they'll have to pay worth every penny.