These 2 Derby County players have just a month to prove they are worth keeping around in January | OneFootball

Highlights

With the January transfer window just around the corner, time is running out for some Derby County players to prove that they're worth keeping around in January.

Paul Warne's side are currently in the play-off mix after a decent start to the season. The January window will prove key for Warne's side as they look to move up the table and potentially shift some players who haven't quite had the desired impact at Pride Park.

League One is a very tight division this season, so a good window could make all the difference as they look to return to the Championship after being relegated in 2022.

1 Tyreece John-Jules

Arsenal loanee John-Jules has found minutes hard to come by at Pride Park so far this season. He came off the bench in the Rams' first two league games this season where he amassed just 24 minutes of football before being ruled out for the next few months with a thigh injury.

He made his return to the bench at the end of November for the game against Bristol Rovers, before playing 14 minutes from the bench against Port Vale where he scored the Rams' winner with just 13 minutes left at Vale Park. That was just what the doctor ordered for the 22-year-old striker as he returned from injury and looked to make a long-awaited impact in a Derby shirt.

However, his loan spell is set to expire in January and given the lack of game time he's had, albeit through nothing to do with his form, John-Jules is on the backfoot when it comes to staking a claim to extend his stay at Pride Park.

With just a year left on his deal at the Emirates Stadium, the striker will be keen to secure a permanent home in the near future after numerous EFL loan spells in recent years.

With the games coming thick and fast for Derby, the striker will get the chance to show Paul Warne just what he's capable of when fully fit. The coming weeks could play a pivotal role in shaping his career path.

2 Tony Weston

20-year-old striker Tony Weston joined Derby in the summer from Rangers. He was signed by the Scottish giants in the summer of 2020 after making his debut for Blackpool at just 16-years-old in an FA Cup tie with Maidstone in Decemeber 2019.

He played for Rangers' youth teams during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons before making his Scottish Premiership debut against Hearts in May 2022.

The 2022/23 seasons were spent on loan with Patrick Thistle and Cove Rangers, but Weston failed to find the back of the net across 31 appearances with the two sides. He subsequently joined Paul Warne's side upon release by Rangers and has featured primarily for the club's U21 side.

He's scored once in eight Premier League 2 appearances but did score on his first-team debut for the Rams, scoring the opening goal in their 4-1 win over Wolves U21's in the EFL trophy.

It's now up to Warne to decide whether he's seen enough from Weston to give him more of a first-team chance during the second-half of the season or whether to loan him out. At this stage in his career, Weston needs to be playing regular first-team football, a loan spell at a League 2 side or a National League side may do him the world of good ahead of next season.