Derby County sent clear "get it paid" Lewis Travis transfer instruction | OneFootball

The Rams' last bid for the midfielder wasn't too far off of Blackburn's valuation.

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...

Blackburn Rovers are holding strong on their valuation of Derby County target Lewis Travis.

It was reported on Tuesday by The Times that Derby's second offering of £1.5 million, plus add-ons, fell short of Blackburn's demands for the 27-year-old midfielder, and that they want £2.5 million for him.

The club's captain has now told Rovers that he wants to leave, amid links with the Rams, but there's no guarantee that this will force the Lancashire outfit into slashing his price.

Derby urged to take quick Lewis Travis transfer action

There's no great chasm between County's latest offer and what their Championship rivals want for Travis, so there's no reason, according to Football League World's Derby fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, why they shouldn't just stump up the money, especially given John Eustace's current options in midfield.

"It totally makes sense to meet that valuation now," Woodward said. "Just get it paid and get him in. We can't wait around until Christmas because we showed on Saturday how lightweight we really are in that middle.

"[Liam] Thompson and Kenzo [Goudmijn] just do not cut it. Sadly, Tomo, we love him, he's one of our own, but he's just not good enough for the Championship, especially not if we want to be looking to push on. He's a bench player, [a] squad player at best at this level, probably more of a League One player.

"Kenzo, I just don't think he fits the Championship. I'd love to be proven wrong. He's technically a good player. He's just not strong enough. He's not competitive enough. He can't win tackles. He's not very big. He gets pushed off the ball. And then, in a team that doesn't have much possession, and a team that's not on the front foot very much, like we are, then he just doesn't suit our style.

"He would suit a team that's at the top with 60-70 per cent possession, bombing forward, where he hasn't got the responsibility of tracking a man or defending. Unfortunately, at Derby he hasn't got that luxury and he just really struggles. So, sadly, them two are just not good enough.

"We've got [David] Ozoh, who's obviously going to come in when he's fully fit and he'll make a huge difference. But, again, he had a terrible injury last season, or a couple of injuries, so we've got to hope we can get a lot of games out of him. But he's an unknown at this level over a period of 30, 40 games.

"So for me, you get someone in that's done it year in, year out. He's [Travis] the captain of his club. He knows this league inside out. He does the dirty work. I would just pay whatever they want, as long as it's not ridiculous. Just get it paid and get him in."

Lewis Travis' arrival at Pride Park would seal a strong summer for Derby

From the moment that Eustace took the job in Derbyshire with his old club, there were plenty of challenges that stood in front of him. The first major one - escaping the jaws of relegation - has been checked off. Now it's time to see if he can make them kick on and advance up the second-tier table.

To do that, a reshaping of the team was always going to be required. 10 signings later, it's safe to say that Eustace has been backed to build a team that fits his image better.

We know that Travis works well with the County boss from their time together with Blackburn, so this move, to address a weak point in the squad, feels like a no-brainer.