In the summer, Max Bird will leave Derby County to join Bristol City, and Paul Warne may be able to replace him by bringing up a player from the academy.
Paul Warne wasn’t particularly forward-thinking when he opened the summer transfer window since Derby County was fighting for promotion to the Championship.
Whatever the tier they play in, the Derby manager will have a backup plan for academy graduate Max Bird.
During the January transfer window, Bristol City confirmed Bird’s permanent signing and loaned him back to the League One team for the balance of the season.
The 23-year-old has been crucial to their promotion push even though he is presently out with a calf injury and will likely be out for another week. This is what led to the Robins purchasing him.
In his 31 league games, Bird has five goals, seven assists, five huge opportunities, 1.3 crucial passes, and 5.4 balls recovered per game.
While some sections of the fanbase think his performances have dropped off, replacing him with a similar type of player in the transfer window could cost the club a pretty penny.
Stephen Pearce has outlined the clubs’ ambitions of spending money to build a competitive squad – if promotion to the Championship is achieved – however, Derby could save thousands, or potentially, millions by unleashing fellow academy graduate Cruz Allen instead.
