"Tough competition for his signature" - Derby County keen on signing 26-year-old: 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 are one of several sides keen on soon-to-be former Charlton Athletic defender Sean Clare.

Indeed, as exclusively revealed by FLW, the Rams are interested in bringing the 26-year-old to Pride Park, with Championship sides QPR and Cardiff City also keen.

The defender is set to be a free agent soon, with his Charlton contract due to expire at the end of June, and the club recently announcing his release.

With the Derby links in mind, we asked three of our FLW writers for their thoughts on a potential move to Pride Park for Clare this summer.

Adam Jones

It does feel as though the Rams could benefit from having a right-sided player in their team.

With Clare already knowing League One inside outfit, he could fit in seamlessly at Pride Park and could be a reliable figure considering he made nearly 50 appearances in all competitions for Charlton Athletic during the 2022/23 campaign.

And at 26, he still has room to improve further as well and make the step up to the Championship.

Not only do the Rams need to plan for life in the third tier - but they also need to have the second tier in mind because they could easily be there during the 2024/25 campaign and beyond.

With this in mind, Clare should be a good asset and as a free agent, this is a low gamble signing that could have high rewards.

Adam Elliott

Derby’s issue this summer is that they have a number of good young players aged 23 and under but their other quality players are all post-peak age.

They need to recruit more in the 24-29 bracket, and Clare hits the nail on the head for them in that sense.

As a centre-back in a back three or four, or as a right-back, he has been a solid performer at the Valley for Charlton. The 26-year-old would be a steady first addition this summer for the Rams.

He’s not a flashy signing, but the right sort if you’re readying yourself for another go at the top end of the division.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

This could be a good addition for Derby this summer.

Paul Warne will be keen to strengthen his squad and go again next season, with promotion to the Championship being the aim.

Clare can certainly help in that regard.

The club really lack options at right-back, with Jason Knight having had to fill in there a lot this past season.

That takes away from his true strengths, and therefore signing Clare would free him up permanently.

All in all, it looks to be a shrewd addition. However, with Championship sides interested, there is clearly tough competition for his signature.