Derby County star must avoid Birmingham City and choose Brighton as transfer chat swirls: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Two clubs are set to be vying for Eiran Cashin's signature at the turn of the new year.

Reports from TEAMtalk have said Brighton & Hove Albion are set to make a fresh move for the central defender in January, having had bids rejected in the summer. John Percy of The Telegraph said that the Seagulls had at least four separate bids rejected for the 21-year-old.

But Brighton don't look to be the only ones after the Irishman now. Birmingham City have been linked to Cashin.

Wayne Rooney, the club's new manager, gave the 21-year-old his first taste of EFL football, back in the 2021/22 season, when the former Manchester United player was the boss of the Rams.

Even with a poor start to the season, given the pre-season expectations, Derby will still be hoping that they can be a good position to return to the Championship in May. Cashin has been one of the club's better players through the first 15 games of the season, and these performances will only fuel the fires of the other clubs that are circling him.

With the potential that he's showing, his next career move is a big one. We've seen with the likes of Jude Bellingham that where a young, promising EFL player chooses to go next is so important for their future, and, out of the two clubs, there is an obviously better option.

Why Eiran Cashin should join Brighton

The Seagulls have been one of the most impressive clubs in the world over recent years. The way that they can develop and nurture undiscovered talents and turn them into huge profits is something that the traditional big six will be looking at and drooling over.

Their recruitment isn't just smart when it comes to players either. When they lost Graham Potter, many though that it would signal the end of their underdog run. But they went and got an even better manager in Roberto Di Zerbi to replace him.

Tony Bloom, the chairman of Brighton, and the rest of the staff below him, have put the club on such a good trajectory that it'll be hard for anyone in Cashin's position to turn them down.

They have a proven track record of taking lesser known players and turning them into top Premier League talents. When you compare all of the above to what's currently going on at Birmingham, there's no way he can choose City over the Seagulls.

Weekly wages: Birmingham City's top-10 highest earners (Ranked)

Eiran Cashin should stay as far from Birmingham as possible

At the end of the summer transfer window, if you'd have told a Birmingham fan what the feeling around the club was like now, they would've either told you where to go or slowly become sadder and sadder.

Investment from Tom Brady, signing Ethan Laird, Cody Drameh, Jay Stansfield, Siriki Dembele, and more; things were heading in the right direction. But one seemingly fateful move to relieve John Eustace of his duties to find a: "no fear," manager has not only sent the club in the wrong direction, but the SATNAV is malfunctioning and the driver has lost their map.

Fans aren't happy with how Rooney's approach to players and: "no fear," football has turned a potential playoff team with a solid defence into a toxic environment with a back-line that is leaking like a hedgehog's waterbed.

There's nothing to suggest that things are going to turn around quickly.

So Cashin has a choice between one of the best run club's in the world, and a club where, currently, nothing seems to be going right.