Derby County and Swansea City future talks may be informed by Pride Park clash | OneFootball

The striker was forced to miss out on Wednesday evening due to the Rams playing his parent club and he was a huge miss.

Derby County slipped to 15th in the Championship table on Wednesday evening after they suffered their second home defeat of the season to Swansea City.

The South Wales club ran out 2-1 winners at Pride Park, scoring twice early through Zan Vipotnik and Ronald, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's second-half penalty halving the deficit. The Rams looked the more likely to score following the opening 20 minutes, but were not clinical enough.

It was an extremely frustrating night for Paul Warne and his team, who have now won just one of their last eight matches in the league, and the threat of being caught by those in the relegation zone is starting to feel very real once again.

Derby were forced to adapt heading into the clash against Swansea, knowing that their current top scorer, Jerry Yates, was unavailable to play. The 28-year-old is on loan from the Swans, and without him in the side, the home team struggled in front of goal, and striking up a permanent deal in the future may re-enter Warne's mind.

Derby were wasteful in front of goal

The Rams headed into the game off the back of a three-game unbeaten run, but they were quickly forced to forget about that with Vipotnik striking the ball spectacularly past Jacob Widell Zettertrom less than two minutes in.

Ronald doubled the visitors' advantage just over 10 minutes later, neatly finishing before celebrating in front of the travelling support. It was a huge wake-up call for Derby, who had started the match in an extremely poor fashion.

They got on the front foot over the course of the next 75 minutes, and perhaps should have taken something from the game, but they lacked that cutting edge in front of goal.

Warne's team accumulated an xG rate of 3.57, proving just how wasteful they were in goal, with Kayden Jackson's poor finishing a huge reason behind the defeat. The winger, who was pushed into the striking role, missed a gilt-edged chance at 2-0, cushioning his shot onto the bar from four yards out after Lawrence Vigouroux expertly denied Marcus Harness.

Dajaune Brown also had a chance of his own after he was brought on to help push his side to a draw, but he failed to connect with his volley despite having plenty of time to control the ball and strike it cleanly.

Derby need Yates in the team and he must be seen as a priority for the future

Yates may have felt that he had a point to prove to Luke Williams, his Swansea manager, and while he was never going to get the opportunity to play against his parent club on Wednesday, he can prove on Sunday the difference that he makes to this current Derby team.

The former Rotherham United man has scored three goals in three matches, and is in a real purple patch after struggling to find the back of the net when he first arrived at Pride Park.

Although Warne has stated in the past that a move for Yates is difficult, the summer offers a great opportunity for the Rams to bring in the player who has plenty of Championship experience and fits in well with the current system.

Derby are in desperate need of more cover up front in the January window, as without their loanee, they lack a solid option to score the goals needed to keep them in mid-table.

Sunday is very important for the East Midlands club, and victory is a must against Sheffield Wednesday to keep them clear of those in the bottom three. Another goal for Yates would go down a treat with supporters, and prove further just how crucial he is to the success of his team.