Carlton Palmer reveals whether AFC Wimbledon man should join Derby County | OneFootball

AFC Wimbledon forward Ali Al-Hamadi is one of League Two's hottest prospects.

The ace has already scored four goals and made five assists in 14 games so far this campaign.

These numbers show that the Iraq international is prolific.

It is therefore no surprise that he is attracting interest from Championship and League One clubs.

According to TeamTalk, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Leeds United and Sunderland are all eyeing up a January swoop for Al-Hamadi.

Perhaps at this point in the young striker's career, a move to a League One side like Derby would be more sensible than jumping up by two divisions to the Championship.

What did Carlton Palmer say about Ali Al-Hamadi?

On the interest from Derby, Carlton Palmer told Football League World: "Derby County have also joined the race to sign hot prospect Ali Al-Hamadi from Wimbledon.

"I think this would be a good move for Ali.

"He would be guaranteed more regular first-team football than at the likes of Leeds and Sunderland.

"Wimbledon are currently mid-table in League Two. The step-up would be to League One. He'd be confident at being able to handle that.

"Derby are currently sitting outside of the play-off places. But they're still my favourites for automatic promotion and since [David] McGoldrick has left, they have not found that person to fill that huge hole that was left from his goals scored last season.

"Derby as a club are going places so it would be a great and a more natural step for Ali Al-Hamadi."

Should Ali Al-Hamadi should opt to join Derby County?

The 21-year-old's current club Wimbledon are currently mid-table in League Two, albeit just four points below the play-offs prior to the matches on Saturday afternoon.

Al-Hamadi's goal output suggests that he could play for a side higher up the EFL than the Dons.

The Derby interest could present the youngster with the opportunity he needs at this point in his career. The Rams currently sit just below the play-off spots in seventh, but results this weekend could change that.

Five out of the current top six have managed to score more goals than Paul Warne's side and this would suggest that the presence of a goalscorer such as Al-Hamadi could help bolster the club's play-off push.

Despite the fact that current top-scorer Martyn Waghorn has managed to score on six occasions in 12 games, Derby miss the output of David McGoldrick. During the 2022/23 League One season, McGoldrick scored 22 goals in 39 appearances.

Al-Hamadi's signature could help fill the void created by the Irishman following his departure from the East Midlands side.

How could Ali Al-Hamadi fire Derby County into the promotion mix?

Now that former boss Liam Manning has departed second-placed Oxford United, the U's could embark on an unwanted slide down the League One table.

This could open the door for promotion chasers such as Derby.

If given the game time he deserves, Al-Hamadi could help strengthen the Rams' attack and enable Paul Warne's side to finish in the automatic promotion spots.

Current top four outfits Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United will also be looking to capitalise on any potential Oxford slump.