Derby County could be winners from Tottenham, Ipswich Town development: View | OneFootball

Derby County have shown plenty of promise in the League One promotion race over the past couple of months.

The Rams are now unbeaten in their last nine league games since the end of October, winning eight of those fixtures.

That run has seen Paul Warne's side climb to fourth in the third-tier standings, and they are now just two points adrift of the automatic promotion places.

As a result, those connected with the Pride Park club may well be heading into the new year, with a strong sense of optimism.

But with the January transfer window also now on the horizon, one issue that will still need to be addressed by Derby, is at centre forward.

Warne could soon be lacking striker options at Pride Park

As things stand, it looks as though Derby could soon find themselves with a worrying lack of depth in the centre forward position.

Summer signing Connor Washington has already been ruled out for some time through an ankle injury suffered back in November.

Meanwhile, Tyreece John-Jules, who himself has been hampered by fitness issues during the first half of the campaign, is set to see his loan move from Arsenal come to an end next month.

That could leave Derby with only the veteran duo of Martyn Waghorn and James Collins as their available and recognised centre forward options in the not too distant future.

Consequently, it does feel as though the Rams will need to add to their depth in that position once the market opens, to ensure they have the firepower required to remain competitive in the race for promotion to the Championship.

Now it could be argued at though those circumstances mean that those in charge at Pride Park, ought to be taking an interest in recent developments between Tottenham and Ipswich Town.

Dane Scarlett could be a centre forward option for Derby to consider

Back in the summer transfer window, Tottenham agreed a deal to send striker Dane Scarlett on loan to newly promoted Championship side, Ipswich Town.

Ultimately though, that move is one that failed to work out, with Scarlett managing just 12 league appearances for the Tractor Boys, all of which were as a substitute.

That is someway short of the game time the 19-year-old would have wanted to get under his belt during his temporary spell in East Anglia.

As a result, it is perhaps not surprising that it has already been confirmed that Tottenham have recalled Scarlett from his temporary stint with Ipswich, at this midway point in the season.

With that now being announced, that is something that Derby may want to take advantage of, given their own need for extra attacking options.

Considering the struggles that Scarlett endured at Ipswich, it is hard to imagine that he will force his way into Ange Postecoglu's side, while Spurs may also be reluctant to send him back to the second-tier, given that lack of guarantee over game time there now is at that level.

That could therefore open the door for a move to League One in order to keep him playing regularly with a club such as Derby, who, given their own availability issues at centre forward, could potentially give Scarlett more chances to get the game time he wants.

For Derby themselves, the experience that the 19-year-old has at League One level after a loan spell with Portsmouth last season, could make him something of a reliable option for the club.

Indeed, the fact he is at a much earlier stage of his career to the likes of Waghorn and Collins, Scarlett would no different give Warne something different among those he can pick from to lead the line at Pride Park, especially given he may have something to prove after that spell at Ipswich.

So with all that in mind, it seems as though Scarlett's return to Tottenham from Ipswich, may have presented an opportunity to Derby County, that they surely ought to consider taking.