Football League World
·9. November 2024
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·9. November 2024
Football League World asked our Derby fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, what price-tag he would currently place on the club's two best players and why.
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…
Following their relegation from the Championship in 2022, Derby County endured two League One campaigns, before earning automatic promotion back to the second tier at the end of last campaign.
After making their Championship return, the first goal for the Rams is to maintain their second tier status, while their particularly impressive home form could indicate that Paul Warne's men are on course to do just that.
The Rams also responded to their change in division over the summer by bringing in reinforcements such as Marcus Harness and Nathaniel Phillips on loan from Ipswich Town and Liverpool respectively, while securing permanent deals for the likes of goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom and midfielder Kenzo Goudmijn.
But as the Pride Park outfit look to re-establish themselves in the Championship, second tier rivals with promotion credentials, and indeed Premier League clubs, will be looking to get their hands on some of the talented individuals within Warne's squad.
As such, Football League World asked our Rams fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, what price-tag he would currently place on the club's two best players and why.
Shaun said: "I'd say our two best players are Zetterstrom and Cashin.
"Both young, they've both got years ahead of them to improve.
"I would say Zetterstrom, an absolute snip at £1m, or whatever we signed him for.
"He's going to go on to be a top, top goalkeeper for years to come.
"So I would say he's going to be easily worth the £10m to £15m bracket if he continues to grow and develop as we think he will.
"Cashin, another one.
"You look at some of the prices Championship clubs have got for their players going into the Premier League, we're talking £15-20m for some of them.
"I'm not saying Cashin's worth that much, but he's definitely worth more than the reported £4m, £5m that Brighton offered us a while ago.
"I would say he's another one that's easily worth around the £10m mark, and we need to be holding out for that kind of price."
According to Swedish outlet Expressen, shot-stopper Zetterstrom joined the Rams from Djurgarden for a fee of 20 million Swedish krona, which is around £1.4m.
But as alluded to by Shaun, the 26-year-old is proving to be more than value for money and maintained three clean sheets during his first 11 Championship outings, which is a very respectable feat for a new signing at a freshly promoted side.
Should he eventually leave Pride Park, it appears highly likely that Warne and co would receive a much greater price for Zetterstrom's services than the £1.4 million they signed him for.
Meanwhile, Cashin is a Rams academy product who has already proved his worth as a mainstay in Warne's side ever since the 2022/23 League One season.
The Ireland youth international made 44 third tier appearances as the Pride Park side won promotion last term, and was a rock at the back as he won 75.8% of tackles he attempted, 390 duels and 258 aerial duels throughout a thoroughly impressive 2023/24 term, as per FotMob.
Derbyshire Live revealed during the summer of 2023 that Premier League outfit Brighton were interested in Cashin's services, but had not met the Rams' valuation of over £3m.
But since then, the 22-year-old has helped his side earn promotion to the Championship, and is proving his ability as a solid defender at second tier level.
Should Premier League advances for Cashin resurface, then the Rams are now in good stead to demand much higher than £3m, and could make a very healthy profit on a homegrown talent.