‘Proved to be a nuisance to defenders’ – Derby County player open to Pride Park exit: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County striker Colin Kazim-Richards is reportedly open to leaving the club in January in pursuit of more playing time.

The experienced goalscorer was a key figure as the Rams secured Championship survival last season but has found opportunities harder to come by in 2021/22 and appears to have fallen down the pecking order under Wayne Rooney.

According to the Derby Telegraph, Kazim-Richards is now open to leaving the club in January but should the club let him go?

Our FLW writers share their thoughts…

Marcus Ally

It depends on his wage package and how that fits into the administrators’ cost-cutting attempts. Although he has had troubles with injuries this season, Kazim-Richards still appears like a positive influence on the dressing room and a player who can contribute in the final third.

Wayne Rooney is far from drowning in attacking options so Kazim-Richards is a player he could do with keeping on board.

Unless Derby want to accept defeat and consistently play the likes of Luke Plange and Jack Stretton up top from a development perspective in the second half of the season, Kazim-Richards should be retained by the January window.

At his age, with his fitness record, it is unlikely clubs will be queuing up to take him on and that would suggest that it would be the wiser decision to keep him at Pride Park.

Josh Cole

Derby should only let Kazim-Richards leave in January if they are able to secure a reasonable fee for him.

The Rams already have a relatively small squad compared to some of their Championship rivals and may find it difficult to draft in a replacement for the forward due to their precarious financial position.

Although Luke Plange and Sam Baldock have both demonstrated signs of promise in the second-tier for Derby this season, letting Kazim-Richards leave on a free transfer would unquestionably be an error by the club as the forward may feel as if he can play a role in helping his side achieve a relative amount of success at this level in the coming months.

Therefore, unless they are able to find a club that are willing to pay a decent amount of money for the forward, the Rams should keep him at Pride Park next month.

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Ben Wignall

Considering he had quite a big impact on Derby last season when he arrived, I am surprised that Kazim-Richards hasn’t been used more since returning from injury by Wayne Rooney.

He scored eight Championship goals and proved to be a nuisance to defenders with his strength and hold-up play – so what’s changed this season?

Obviously, the achilles injury that kept the 35-year-old out for two months may have had a bigger effect on the striker than we realise, hence why he’s been mainly kept to substitute appearances since recovering in October.

It appears though that the veteran hasn’t done much of note in those outings from the bench to convince anyone that he should be starting, with young Luke Plange seemingly jumping him in the pecking order.

If he’s not going to be used then I think Kazim-Richards should be let go – but the next question is will there be any takers for a player who is in the twilight of his career?