More news on the transfer front as well as a surprise addition to the backroom staff at Pride Park.

As expected the Rams have finalised a deal for Ilkeston Town midfielder Ben Pringle, who will become a guinea pig for Nigel Clough’s new developmental reserve squad. Seen as having the correct attitude to go along with flashes of real ability, the belief is that Pringle can handle himself in the professional game after spending the last couple of years playing part time.

Suffice to say we won’t see much if anything of Pringle in the first team this season but it’ll be interesting to watch the reserves this year, especially since Pringle will be joined by intriguing youngsters Mark O’Brien and company, who should form the backbone of the side.

This morning has brought news of a surprise but welcome addition to the coaching staff, as former Forest and Real Madrid star Johnny Metgod, most recently first team coach at Portsmouth, has agreed to join the Rams in an all-encompassing role that will involve coaching at first team and academy level, as well as scouting duties. This fits the pattern of not setting a specific role for coaches that the manager obviously prefers and feels gets the most out of the people employed under him, which seems perfectly reasonable to me.

The appointment of Metgod also provides something of a relief for those who may have questioned our Nigel’s knowledge of the wider game above the lower levels, which is a fair enough question, even if I disagree with it. Metgod’s experience of football on the continent could prove invaluable as Clough will eventually have to widen the net for recruits beyond our fair shores and whilst Przemyslaw Kazmierczak’s anti-foreigner comment was clearly tripe from a player who simply wasn’t good enough, it is probably fair to say that Clough hasn’t been in the position to deal with international transfers since he stepped into management, a drawback facing any conference level manager.

Meanwhile, Exeter appear to be conceding that Dean Moxey will move on although an opening bid of £200,000 appears to have been rejected, and the two clubs are currently trying to come to an agreement for the 23 year-old to move to Pride Park, whilst elsewhere a new name has appeared on the rumour mill as Hibbie defender Rob Jones has been linked with a host of Championship clubs, including the Rams.

The 6’ 7” centre half, who last played in England for Grimsby Town, is also said to be drawing attention from West Brom, Leeds and Forest, so it should be between us and the Baggies in any sane human existence. Jones has made at least thirty appearances for Hibs over the last three seasons spent in the Scottish pub league and seems to fit the bill of what is required at Pride Park, ably described in a quote from Ian Holloway: “We need a big, ugly defender. If we had one of them we'd have dealt with County's first goal by taking out the ball, the player and the first three rows of seats in the stands.”

This leads me nicely onto Holloway’s appointment as the new manager of Blackpool (see what I did there?) which could mean an advance in talks over the future of Shaun Barker, who I feel the Rams badly need as a player who knows when to bash everything (as just described) and who can also actually play a bit, which is the feedback I’ve gotten on Barker’s merits. I still imagine our initial offer won’t be good enough, new manager or not; this one could take some time.

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