John Eustace must avoid signing free agent at Derby County this summer, Fulham hold the real key to success

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Derby County are closing in on signing number five of the summer.

Patrick Agyemang is undergoing a medical in the USA, according to Dominic Dietrich, ahead of a £5.8m move from Charlotte FC to the Rams.

While there may be fears over the fee being paid for Agyemang, Tim Howard is a huge fan of the striker and supporters will be excited ahead of his arrival in England in the coming days.

However, with the forward department now filled, John Eustace has to start looking elsewhere at Derby and the attacking midfield position is one he’s looking to strengthen – but he must avoid signing one player in favour of another.

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Derby County should sign Luke Harris, not John Swift

It emerged on Wednesday evening that the Rams are showing an interest in Fulham midfielder Luke Harris, with Sky Sports reporting that both the East Midlands outfit and Charlton Athletic are targeting the 22-year-old.

The Jersey-born Wales U21 international spent last season on loan at Birmingham City in their record-breaking League One campaign, but he found it tough to find form at times with the competition so high in Chris Davies’ team.

Nevertheless, with Derby also interested in John Swift, it is clear to see that Eustace is keen on bringing in a player to compete with Kenzo Goudmijn for the attacking midfield position and youth should be the way to go in this situation.

Swift is a set-piece expert, but he struggled for form at West Bromwich Albion in the last 12 months and the Rams must avoid bringing the 30-year-old to Pride Park.

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John Eustace has to bring the average age of his squad down

Derby have already made signings, but plenty of work is still needed to improve the team after Eustace’s side avoided relegation on the final day of the season.

There is no denying that Harris has plenty of work to do in the coming years to develop into the player that he wants to be, but he needs minutes on the pitch to do that and the Rams may be able to provide that for him.

He has just 12 months left on his contract at Fulham, and Derby will be able to get the midfielder at a cut-throat price, and in the long-run he would be a much better signing than Swift.