John Eustace told to loan out Derby County player who is "not ready for the Championship" | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on which player needs a loan move away from Pride Park this summer.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

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

It looked as though Derby were heading for an immediate return to League One under former manager Paul Warne, but Eustace inspired a significant upturn in form after making a shock move to Pride Park from play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers in February, and his side eventually finished the season in 19th place.

As Eustace begins work on rebuilding his squad, goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell, defender Danny Batth, forward Andreas Weimann and strikers Carlton Morris and Patrick Agyemang have all joined the Rams in what has been a busy start to the summer transfer window, with the latter arriving from MLS side Charlotte for a fee that could rise to £7.3 million.

There have also been a number of departures, including the likes of Sonny Bradley, Jeff Hendrick, Tom Barkhuizen, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Washington, but there could be further exits over the coming weeks, and striker Dajaune Brown is one player facing an uncertain future in the East Midlands.

After scoring six goals and providing four assists in 18 games during an impressive loan spell with National League side Gateshead in the second half of the 2023-24 season, Brown was handed an opportunity in the Derby first team last term, but he struggled for regular minutes, and he missed the final three months of the campaign with a hamstring injury.

Derby County told to make Dajaune Brown transfer call this summer

When asked which player he believes could benefit from a loan move this summer, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward urged Eustace to allow Brown to depart Pride Park on a temporary basis, admitting that he does not believe the 19-year-old is ready for the Championship just yet.

"For me, Dajaune Brown needs to go out on loan," Shaun told FLW.

"He's young and raw.

"He played at Gateshead and then came back, but he was a bit-part player last season before he got injured.

"He's not ready for the Championship, and we've strengthened in the forward areas now as well, so for me, he's someone that needs to go out maybe to a League One or League Two side, get a decent season under his belt and come back next pre-season ready to kick on with his career.

"Right now, he's not someone I'd be looking at to be on the bench in the Championship.

"I think we've got better options, and there are better options out there that we could bring in.

"Brown needs to go out and get some experience at a slightly higher level than he was at before with Gateshead, probably in League One or League Two, and then come back next season ready to go."

Despite Derby struggling for goals for much of the campaign, Brown was unable to force his way into the team last season, and he could fall further down the pecking order after the arrivals of Morris and Agyemang.

Morris scored eight goals in 43 appearances for a relegated Luton Town side last season, so he will likely be a starter for the Rams, and while he will miss the start of the new campaign after undergoing surgery on a hernia problem, Agyemang will surely also feature regularly, particularly given the significant fee the club paid for him.

With that in mind, a loan move would be the best option for Brown this summer, and having already proven himself at National League level, a season in League One or League Two would be the next logical step in his development.