One winner and one loser at Derby County if club sign up 28-year-old on a free transfer | OneFootball

Derby County have been credited with an interest in former Preston North End midfielder Tom Barkhuizen in recent days.

As per journalist Alan Nixon, the Rams are one of three clubs eyeing a move for the out-of-contract Championship player this summer.

Rotherham United and Bolton Wanderers are the other two clubs reportedly interested.

With that being said, here, we’ve weighed up one potential winner and one potential loser at Derby County if the deal for Barkhuizen were to go through.

Winner: Wayne Rooney

One winner as a result of the deal would undoubtedly be Rams boss Wayne Rooney.

The 36-year-old has a big job on his hands this summer as he attempts to re-build a Derby side capable of bouncing back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Despite barely featuring for Preston this season, Barkhuizen has shown previously that he can be a really good player in the second-tier and in League One, he has the potential to be a star.

Furthermore, at 28-years-old, Barkhuizen has plenty of time left in his career and thus this is not a short-term signing for the club.

As a result, Rooney would be getting a very talented player that could grow with the club as they look to re-build and re-establish themselves in the coming years.

Loser: Malcolm Ebiowei

One potential loser from the deal going through, if he remains at the club, would be Malcolm Ebiowei.

The 18-year-old has featured on the right hand side for Derby County during the latter stages of the season, and going in to League One, he should expect to receive plenty of game time should he sign a new deal with the Rams.

However, Barkhuizen also plays as a right midfielder so this move has the potential to take minutes away from Ebiowei and hamper his development.

As a result, he would be a clear loser of the move were it to go through, although it must be said that the 18-year-old has previously played as a centre-forward in Derby’s youth sides, so could potentially play elsewhere.