Birmingham, Huddersfield and Hull keen to capitalise on Derby County situation | OneFootball

With the January transfer window just days away, the rumour mill across the EFL is starting to gather pace as we edge towards New Year's Day when deals can be officially done.

There are a plethora of names across the Championship, League One and League Two who have found themselves in the news ahead of this period as a multitude of clubs can be named as wanting to acquire their services ahead of the second period of the 2023/24 season.

For some managers, the upcoming window is their maiden opportunity to make minor tweaks or wholesale changes to their respective squads after being named in the dugout after September 2nd. In the second tier, this applies to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Darren Moore at Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town, as the two bosses look to address their clubs' inconsistencies from recent weeks.

Derby County winger linked with Championship trio

Since taking their respective posts at Birmingham and Hull City, it's no real surprise that both Rooney and Liam Rosenior have been linked with some of the best talent still on offer at their former employers, with both clubs often rumoured to be interested in midfielder Max Bird.

As we approach the upcoming window, another Derby County-related rumour has surfaced involving the West Midlands and East Yorkshire outfits in the form of winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

On Thursday morning, it was revealed by Alex Howell of BBC Sport that Hull, Birmingham City and Huddersfield have all expressed an interest in acquiring the 31-year-old's services, as he is currently in the midst of an impressive season with the Rams, who are looking to return to the second tier under the guidance of Paul Warne.

Howell then went on to state that Mendez-Laing is about to enter the final six months of his contract at Pride Park, which, in theory, could make it easier for the trio of interested parties to strike a cut-price deal if the Rams don't resolve any contract talks in the coming weeks.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's current form for Derby County

It's fair to suggest that the former Cardiff City man from the Bluebirds' time in the Premier League is currently playing his best football since that period, as he's been pivotal to Derby's surge up the League One table in recent weeks.

The experienced winger has also registered eight goal contributions in Derby's last nine outings across all competitions, highlighting his importance to the side.

Which side is Mendez-Laing more likely to move to?

If this question was based off the league positions of Hull, Birmingham and Huddersfield then the obvious pick would be the Tigers given their proximity to the Championship play-off places. However, there are multiple cases for all three sides which could sway Mendez-Laing's decision.

Darren Moore was in charge of Mendez-Laing in the 2021/22 season when their Sheffield Wednesday side were defeated by Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals, but he only featured 19 times, which could lessen the chances of him making a move to the Kirklees Stadium.

Rooney is the only boss of the respective trio yet to have managed the winger, but with Mendez-Laing originally being from Birmingham, the chance to represent his hometown club during a prime period of his career may be an opportunity which is too hard to ignore – though his Wolves history may make that something of a moot point.

Hull are in need of some additions out wide, with the likes of Corey Blackett-Taylor also linked. Given Rosenior's philosophy of developing youngsters, it would seem that the Derby man may only be a short-term option if he were to move to East Yorkshire.