Derby County should seek Notts County transfer after David McGoldrick switch: Opinion | OneFootball

Seemingly-interminable speculation was curtailed on Saturday afternoon when Notts County announced the highly-anticipated homecoming of David McGoldrick ahead of their Football League return.

A product of the Magpies youth system, McGoldrick sealed his County comeback after opting not to pen fresh terms with the Rams upon the expiration of a one-year deal.

The forward will remain in Nottinghamshire until 2025, and appears primed to play an instrumental role in their ascent up the divisions following a historic National League promotion alongside Wrexham.

Though Derby, who missed out on promotion themselves, will need to be swift shrewd, and ultimately successful in their search for a replacement if they are to avoid the heartbreak sustained at the end of last season and escape League One at the second time of asking.

Why is it so important that Derby County replace David McGoldrick?

The 35-year-old has truly aged like a fine wine, and enjoyed the most productive campaign of his career by finding the back of the net on no less than 25 occasions across all competitions, subsequently swooping both Derby's Fans' and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Naturally, his exit leaves a gaping goalscoring wound that requires urgent attention.

After McGoldrick, James Collins was the side's top scorer with 11 strikes, which represents a respectable return though, in truth, not one that can be relentlessly relied upon throughout the entirety of a hard-bearing 46-game season.

Conor Hourihane and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing both weighed in with seven apiece too, and that cannot be sniffed at given they are players who have not necessarily been enlisted in the Derby team for their exploits in front of goal.

But from there, the territory of fours, threes and twos is reached, illuminating the overall shortage of goal distribution at the club.

Yet, the numbers fail to even fully verify the paramount influence of McGoldrick, with his high-pressing, movement, match intelligence and interchangeability with teammates proving central to nearly everything positive that Paul Warne's side did.

It is perhaps unsurprising that he flourished in such a leading fashion in the third-tier, given that this is a player who only two years prior had finished a Premier League season up at Sheffield United with eight goals to his name.

So, one can only imagine the trail of damage that McGoldrick could well leave in his wake in the fourth-tier under the tuition of progressive-minded boss Luke Williams, and partnered with the goalscoring extraordinaire that is Macauley Langstaff.

But although they have embarked upon an exciting and sustainable trajectory that promises to bear further fruit, Notts County appear primed to lose Ruben Rodrigues this summer, with the Portuguese attacker evidently believing that he is deserving of an extended step-up- and Derby simply must accelerate their interest in the coming weeks.

Why should Derby County sign Ruben Rodrigues?

Irrespective of the level, a return of 19 goals and 15 assists from attacking midfield in the season just gone- and 51 strikes across three seasons- makes for hugely positive reading.

Indeed, those are Rodrigues’ numbers, who often opened doors and unlocked space in the final third for Langstaff to wreak havoc and unleash his 42-goal weaponry upon opponents.

But his contract expires later this month and after hopes of agreeing new terms proved futile, it feels inevitable that he will leave the club for nothing.

Derby have been rather trigger-happy when it comes to utilizing the free agent market by acquiring the likes of Tom Barkhuizen, Hourihane, Mendez-Laing and even McGoldrick himself through these means.

The latter three all proved to have a significant bearing on proceedings within varying stages of the season, and there is no reason why Rodrigues would not be able to, either.

Multi-faceted, intricate and technically supreme, ever since his arrival from FC Den Bosch in 2020, Rodrigues had resembled a player not only a cut above the fifth tier, but also one who would be more than capable in League Two, and perhaps the division above that, too.

At his best, he can administer the lethal combination of a dual goalscoring and creative threat, which are both issues that need fixing following McGoldrick’s departure.

It would be an intelligent acquisition overall, given that Rodrigues is 26-years-old and entering his prime and, prior to the contractual stand-off, would have no doubt been accompanied by a sizable price tag that may well have proved too costly for Derby.