Derby County join transfer race for 20-goal striker | OneFootball

Who is Alfie May?

The 29-year-old joined the Robins in 2020 from Doncaster Rovers for just £5,000, and it has turned out to be an outstanding bit of business by the club.

After helping Cheltenham to promotion from League Two inside his first 18 months with them, May has since gone on to shine in the third tier. He hit 23 goals in the previous campaign, before netting 20 this time around.

Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise the player is on the radar of many clubs, with Gloucestershire Live revealing that the Rams have joined Charlton Athletic, among others, in keeping tabs on May.

The update states that the forward will leave this summer, with Cheltenham expecting a ‘six-figure’ sum for their star man, with Doncaster due a percentage of any sale.

With May having a year left on his contract, and the club having a 12-month option to go with that, they are not under pressure to cash in for a low fee.

Paul Warne is sure to be in the market for a new attacking option this summer after Derby failed to reach the play-offs despite going into the final day in the top six.

There was a reliance on David McGoldrick in the final third, and the former Rotherham chief will be keen to strengthen his squad ahead of what he hopes will be a promotion push next season.

May is ready for the next step in his career

It’s no surprise that there is plenty of interest in May, because he has been superb for Cheltentham since they won promotion to League One, and the reality is that he is almost guaranteeing you goals at this level. So, you can understand why Derby are keen, because they do need reinforcements up top.

From May’s perspective, even though the Rams are in the same league as Cheltenham, they are obviously a huge club, and at 29, he will know that this is a big contract for him financially, so he is right to take that into account as well.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but whoever does sign May is bringing in a very good player for the third tier, and few at Cheltenham will begrudge him the switch considering what he has given them after his bargain move a few years ago.