[themaclad]

Derby County have signed Tom Barkhuizen, Joe Wildsmith and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on two-year contracts, their first deals since the club-saving takeover by Clowes Developments.

Forward Barkhuizen, 28, played 208 times for Preston, scoring 38 goals, before his end-of-season exit.

Goalkeeper Wildsmith, 26, heads to Pride Park having left Sheffield Wednesday this summer after 88 games.

Former Owls team-mate Mendez-Laing, 30, adds a winger option to the Rams squad.

Defender Eiran Cashin and midfielder Liam Thompson, both 20, have also signed new two-year contracts.

The deals are all subject to English Football League approval.

Derby, who currently have Liam Rosenior as interim manager following Wayne Rooney's departure as boss late last month, are rebuilding their squad for a first campaign in the third tier since 1985-86 after being relegated from the Championship last season.

Only five first-team players were contracted to the club, before Saturday's announcements.

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erby County have bolstered their squad with the triple signing of midfielder Conor Hourihane, defender James Chester and striker David McGoldrick.

Republic of Ireland international Hourihane, 31, arrives on a two-year deal after his contract at Aston Villa expired at the end of June.

Chester, 33, joins on a one-year deal after being released by Stoke City.

McGoldrick, 34, has also signed a one-year contract following his departure from Sheffield United.

Hourihane's move to Pride Park comes three years after he started for Villa in their Championship play-off final win against Derby which sent them back to the Premier League in 2019.

The former Barnsley captain said he was looking for "something that was going to excite me" after his five years with Villa came to an end earlier in the summer.

"Fortunately enough for myself, I have played all the way up from League Two to the Premier League so analysing it this summer as a free agent, I was thinking what do I want next and what do I want to achieve and be part of," he told the club website.

"Derby ticked all the boxes.

"Everyone knows the difficulties here over the last couple of years but it's a fresh start, new takeover and the excitement is here and that's why I'm here and want to be a part of it."

Hourihane spent last season in the Championship with Sheffield United on loan, having also spent the much of the previous campaign on loan in the second division with Swansea.

The central midfielder will now play in League One for the first time in six years, having played a pivotal role in getting Barnsley promoted from England's third tier in 2016.

Wales international Chester, who played alongside Hourihane at Villa but did not feature against Derby in the play-off final win in 2019, spent two-and-a-half years with Stoke after initially joining the Potters on loan in January 2020.

The former Manchester United trainee, who also previously played for West Bromwich Albion and Hull City, featured 22 times for Stoke last season.

While at Hull, Chester played alongside Derby's interim boss Liam Rosenior.

"The opportunities in your careers to achieve something aren't there very often, so to have some responsibility to get this club back to the Championship where they deserve to be at the very minimum is another huge reason [to join the club]," Chester said.

Republic of Ireland international McGoldrick added: "I still feel as hungry and ambitious as ever and I know I can still play at the top level, but this is a big pull for me.

"There were other offers which were probably more lucrative but I just felt this was right. I'm local as well so it's good for me and my family and the whole project of the club and what the players have said about it, it's just perfect for me."

The arrival of the trio take the number of new arrivals at the rebuilding Rams, who were last week taken out of administration after nine months by new owner David Clowes, to six.

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Derby County defenders Curtis Davies and Richard Stearman have agreed a new one-year contracts.

Davies, 37, was an ever-present as Derby fought unsuccessfully to avoid relegation from the Championship last season after having 21 points deducted.

He was named player of the season, having joined the Rams from Hull City in 2017.

Stearman, 34, made 15 appearances for the Rams in 2021-22 following his release by Huddersfield Town.

His former clubs also include Leicester City, Wolves, Fulham and Sheffield United.

The pair's new deals follow the signing of Conor Hourihane, David McGoldrick and James Chester earlier this week in the wake of the takeover of the club by David Clowes.

"I can't see myself in another team's shirt," Davies told the Derby website.

"Everything this club wants to be moving forward, I want to be part of. We are starting from scratch again with new ownership now."

He added: "It's important that we realise we have the quality in the changing room, we have the characters and experience in terms of winning promotions in the changing room, but it's putting it together on the pitch and making sure we do the right things week in and week out to get us back up."


Report
Derby will be playing in the third tier of English football this season for the first time since 1985-86.

"I'm realistic at where I am in my career. I know I might not be the first name on the teamsheet but I think my strengths lie not just in the matchday squad," said Stearman.

"There is the culture of the club, the standards that need to be met every day and I feel as though they play into my strengths."

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Derby have signed defender Haydon Roberts from Premier League Brighton on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old has progressed through the youth ranks with the Seagulls and has played for the first team in the Carabao Cup.

He has also spent time on loan at Rochdale, making 26 appearances for the club during the 2020-21 campaign.

Roberts becomes the seventh player to join the Rams since new owner David Clowes took over at the club.

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Derby County have signed Republic of Ireland striker James Collins from Cardiff and goalkeeper Scott Loach.

Collins and Loach arrive at Pride Park on free transfers as the League One club continues to rebuild its squad following David Clowes' takeover.

Collins, 31, joined Cardiff from Luton last summer after scoring 72 goals in 183 games for The Hatters.

Loach, 34, has signed a one-year deal after leaving Chesterfield, while Collins has signed a two-year contract.

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Kwaku Oduroh
Kwaku Oduroh was released by Manchester City this summer after initially joining the club at the age of eight
Derby County have signed former Manchester City defender Kwaku Oduroh on a two-year contract.

The 19-year-old played for the Rams as a trialist in their pre-season friendly at Bradford City last week.

Oduroh is the 10th player to join the League One club since David Clowes completed his takeover last month.

"There were a lot of clubs interested after I left City. Derby came up and I really liked the sound of the project," he told the club website.

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Derby have made an 11th summer signing by bringing in free agent midfielder Korey Smith following his end-of-season departure from Swansea City.

The 31-year-old former Norwich City, Oldham Athletic and Bristol City midfielder has signed a two-year deal.

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Derby County defender Craig Forsyth has recommitted to the rebuilding Rams by signing a new one-year contract.

His previous deal expired while Derby were still in administration.

The 33-year-old is the longest serving player on Derby's books, having made 256 appearances since initially arriving on loan from Watford in 2013.

"There are not many players that stay at a club for ten years, but I want to make the tenth year a worthwhile one," Forsyth told the club website.

"After last year, and the way it finished with relegation and things like that, I wanted to stay. With the new owner in place, I hope we can get back up at the first attempt and make it a good season."

Forsyth's new deal means interim Derby boss Liam Rosenior has a 21-man first-team squad to call on for the start of the League One campaign, having only had seven senior players available to him before David Clowes bought the club on 1 July.

The Rams kick-off the season, which will be their first in the third tier of English football since 1986, against Oxford United at home on Saturday.

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Derby County have signed Everton forward Lewis Dobbin on loan.

The 19-year-old England youth international has agreed a season-long deal at the League One side.

Dobbin made three appearances as a substitute in the Premier League in the first half of last season and came off the bench in two FA Cup ties.

"I have had interest in me for a couple of weeks now and it's finally over the line. I'm happy to be here," Dobbin told the Derby County website.

"This is a good opportunity for me to come here and prove myself and help take the club back in the right direction, which is where they deserve to be after everything that has gone on in the last year."

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Derby County have signed West Ham goalkeeper Joseph Anang on a season-long loan.

The 22-year-old's move to Derby came after West Ham recalled Anang from his loan deal with St Patrick's Athletic.

He helped the Saints reach the Europa Conference League third qualifying round during his spell at the League of Ireland Premier Division side.

He is the third goalkeeper, alongside Joe Wildsmith and Scott Loach, signed by the rebuilding Rams this summer.

Anang, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Hammers, spent time on loan at Stevenage in League Two last season before going on to join St Patrick's.

He made 30 appearances and kept 12 clean sheet during his time with the Saints.

Derby, whose takeover by David Clowes earlier in the summer ended the club's torrid 282 days in administration, are seventh in the League One table with two wins from three games.

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Derby County have signed Sheffield United striker William Osula on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old Denmark Under-19 international has made five appearances for the Blades.

He could make his debut for the Rams, who are sixth in League One, in Saturday's home game against Plymouth.

"Derby is a big club and I felt good after I spoke to the gaffer. It feels like the right choice," he told the club website.