Derby County news: John Eustace eyes Blackburn Rovers stars, Bristol Rovers ace linked, Don Goodman relegation claim | OneFootball

We rounded up all the latest news involving Derby County.

Derby County are preparing for another season in the Championship after securing survival under John Eustace.

Derby made a decent start to life back in the Championship last season after winning promotion from League One, but they parted company with manager Paul Warne in February after a run of seven consecutive defeats dragged them into the relegation battle.

John Eustace made the shock decision to swap a play-off push at Blackburn Rovers for a survival fight at Pride Park, and the Rams' predicament initially got worse under the 45-year-old as he lost his first three games in charge, which left the club sitting seven points from safety.

However, that proved to be the start of an impressive turnaround as Eustace then inspired a significant upturn in form, and Derby confirmed their Championship status on the final day of the season, eventually finishing the campaign in 19th place, one point clear of the relegation zone.

While the Rams are yet to make a signing this summer, there have been a number of departures as Eustace gets to work on rebuilding his squad, with winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing perhaps the most surprising exit as he opted to drop two divisions to reunite with Warne at League Two side MK Dons.

As the countdown to the new season continues, we rounded up all the latest news from Pride Park.

John Eustace plotting Derby County reunion with Blackburn Rovers man

As FLW exclusively reported last month, Eustace is keen to reunite with two of his former Blackburn players - defender Danny Batth and forward Andreas Weimann - at Derby this summer, and he is now looking to link up with another of his Ewood Park favourites.

In another FLW exclusive, we revealed earlier this week that the Rams have joined the race to sign Rovers midfielder Lewis Travis, who starred after being brought back into the fold by Eustace last season following his loan spell at Ipswich Town.

Travis was Blackburn's captain last season, and he scored two goals and provided one assist in 39 appearances as the Lancashire outfit narrowly missed out on the play-offs, with the 27-year-old arguably putting in some of his best performances for the club under Eustace.

However, Derby are not the only club keen on Travis, with journalist Alan Nixon claiming on Sunday that Wrexham have enquired about the possible signing of the midfielder, who is believed to be valued at around £2 million by Rovers.

Derby County set to rival Cardiff City for Bristol Rovers midfielder

According to The Mirror, Derby are one of the clubs interested in signing Bristol Rovers midfielder Kamil Conteh.

Conteh made the move to the Memorial Stadium from Grimsby Town in January 2024 for a fee in the region of £300,000, and he made 22 appearances for the Gas last season, but he missed the entire second half of the campaign due to a bone infection.

Unfortunately for Conteh, Rovers were relegated to League Two in his absence as they picked up just one point from their final 10 games of the season, and the 22-year-old, who is thought to have a "significant release clause" in his contract, is expected to leave the club this summer.

The Rams are hoping to bring Conteh to Pride Park and give him a chance to showcase his talent in the Championship, but a host of League One clubs are also keeping tabs on the Sierra Leone international, including Cardiff City and Wycombe Wanderers.

Don Goodman issues bold Derby County relegation prediction

As he attempts to strengthen his squad, Eustace will be keen for Derby to remain clear of danger next season, but after finishing just one point above the relegation zone last term, they will likely be tipped by many to struggle again in the upcoming campaign.

However, speaking exclusively to FLW, pundit Don Goodman revealed that he does not expect the Rams to be involved in another battle for survival next season, claiming that the defensive solidity Eustace has instilled in his side will keep them away from the bottom three.

"No, I don't see Derby County in a relegation battle next season," Goodman told FLW.

"I look at the 14 games John Eustace took charge of at the end of last season - six wins and three draws, and that's despite losing the first three games he took charge of.

"If he accrued that points total over the course of last season that would be 69 points, which would've actually been enough for a play-off spot for Derby, remarkably.

"He's outstanding at organising teams and making them hard to play against and hard to beat, so those are ingredients that will see Derby County not be in a relegation battle."