Tyreece John-Jules comments on Derby County future with loan departure date looming | OneFootball

Having endured a frustrating last loan stint at Ipswich Town with injuries, Tyreece John-Jules was probably relieved to get another big League One club on his resumé when signing for Derby County in August.

The striker has always had a promising reputation when coming through the Arsenal youth ranks and has played for England at five different youth levels, including for the under-21's in 2021 when he was on loan at Blackpool.

Injury issues have plagued John-Jules' professional career though - muscle injuries restricted him to just 18 League One appearances for Doncaster Rovers in 2020-21, and then in the second half of the following campaign he played just once for Sheffield Wednesday as he injured his quad following his Owls debut.

And if the young forward thought he'd have more look with Ipswich last season, then he was to be mistaken - he played 17 times in the first half of 2022-23 in League One, but his season was cut short in November.

John-Jules suffered a significant hamstring tear and there was hope that he would be back before the season ended, but it never happened and he returned to Arsenal as perhaps a player lacking in confidence.

Paul Warne took a chance on John-Jules though over the summer, gambling that injury and fitness issues were behind the 22-year-old, but after just two league outings for the Rams, disaster struck when yet another quad issue arose.

What was supposed to be a month out on the sidelines turned into nearly three, but against Port Vale in midweek, John-Jules made his comeback as a 76th-minute substitute, and he immediately made an impact as with his first touch he slid home Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's cross to send the County fans delirious at Vale Park.

It could be a fresh start for John-Jules now he's recovered from his latest setback, but with his loan deal ending in January and not the end of the season, there could be a big decision to make in the transfer window.

What has Tyreece John-Jules said about extending Derby County loan spell?

John-Jules was unwilling to be too open about where his future may be beyond the end of the original loan spell he will be with Derby for, but he has revealed that there is a good relationship between him and the club, and that could potentially see him stay until the end of the season.

"I just want to stay fit," John-Jules told the Derby Telegraph.

"That's my main objective and play as many games as possible from now until January - I just want to play football.

"We've got a good relationship here so we'll see."

Should Derby look to extend Tyreece John-Jules' loan spell?

It is a tough one for Derby to assess as they have seen very little of John-Jules so far.

And with his injury record rearing its ugly head once more this season, Derby perhaps cannot afford to risk having him for the rest of the season if it flares up again.

County have lacked pace up-front because of John-Jules' absence, and with Conor Washington also out for a number of months, his return could not have come soon enough.

There could be better options for Derby and Warne in the transfer window though and players with better injury records, so it may be best to move on - unless he starts to score regularly within the next month.