Derby County position in Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle transfer chase becomes clearer | OneFootball

The young midfielder has had plenty of interest from the Championship this summer.

Derby County are reported to be leading the race for Crystal Palace midfielder David Ozoh, ahead of Luton Town, Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City and Millwall.

The Rams are said to be ahead of the likes of four Championship rivals in the queue for the 19-year-old, according to the South London Press.

They added that Luton inquired about taking him off of Palace's hands on a permanent basis, and that Plymouth also wanted him but just on a loan spell, which looks likely to come this season.

Previous reporting from Alan Nixon echoed these statements about the Hatters' interest in Ozoh. However, he suggested that Rob Edwards wanted the midfielder, as well as winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, on a temporary basis.

SLP later reported that Luton wanted to buy Ozoh, rather than just having him for a season, or even for a few months.

Argyle were said to have attempted to get the Palace starlet in the last January transfer window, but it was to no avail, though the interest in him appears to remain.

The likes of Cardiff and Millwall have also been linked with the 19-year-old, but there has been no suggestion that they are really pushing to make the deal happen like their other competitors in this battle.

SLP said that the Lions wouldn't look to make any loan moves until later in the summer, and the Bluebirds were said to be tracking Ozoh, as per Darren Witcoop.

Derby lead race for David Ozoh

Paul Warne's side have lost a few midfield options over the summer, and they are now ahead of some of their Championship rivals for the temporary signing of the Palace prodigy, as per SLP.

The Premier League club's decision on the future temporary destination of their midfielder was expected to come around mid-July (now). Ozoh now looks set to be allowed to leave, temporarily, this summer by manager Oliver Glasner, and County are heading the long list of those interested.

Already in his young career, the midfielder has made 10 Premier League appearances, the most notable of which was under Roy Hodgson's stewardship, before he was replaced by Glasner, against Manchester City in a 2-2 draw in December.

He is described by SLP as a powerful midfielder, which could serve Derby well given the fewer options that they have in the middle of the pitch. Max Bird and Conor Hourihane left the club this summer, and Louie Sibley, who could play in that role but was often used at left-wing back, also departed.

Ebou Adams' permanent return to Pride Park, and Kenzo Goudmijn's arrival from AZ Alkmaar, will help in this area of the pitch though.

Derby fans should be encouraged by David Ozoh news

There are two main reasons why this latest reporting should make Rams supporters happy. Firstly, the quality of the player. Palace fans see the 19-year-old as a potential star of the future, asking him to get more minutes during the dismal run at the end of Hodgson's reign.

Secondly, Palace obviously see Pride Park as a good place to send one of their best young players. Because of the high esteem in which they hold Ozoh, they won't want him to go out on loan and warm the bench for the majority of the season. They will want somewhere that he can continue to develop.