Derby County urged to seal agreement with “shining light” at Pride Park
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…
Right-back Kane Wilson has been picked out as the main player that Derby County have to keep hold of in the upcoming transfer window, with his contract set to expire this summer, following his impressive performances throughout this season on their return to the Championship.
Wilson is only 25-years-old, but has been a professional for close to nine years already, after he emerged as an upcoming talent at boyhood club West Brom in 2016.
He was unable to make a name for himself with the Baggies, and League Two side Forest Green Rovers was where he made a real breakthrough into the senior game before a move to Championship outfit Bristol City in 2022.
That move was probably a step too far for him at that stage, and so he dropped back into League One in 2023, joining the Rams on a two-year deal as they looked to get out of the third-tier. Wilson helped Derby achieve promotion last season, and has been a key part of their side in the second-tier as they aim to avoid relegation under John Eustace.
Derby fan pundit issues Kane Wilson contract demand – he is a ‘shining light’ in their team
Wilson has featured 34 times in all competitions so far this season, with two goals and one assist to his name, while being the Rams’ first-choice option at both right-back and right-wing-back under Paul Warne and Eustace.
He has been a standout in Derby’s side throughout the campaign, with impressive pace, strength and determination that has seen him quickly become a fan-favourite among those at Pride Park. It is clear that he is now ready for Championship football, after struggling in his single season at Ashton Gate two years ago.
Wilson is out-of-contract this summer, and there have been hardly any updates about the status of potential extension talks, with the Rams’ hierarchy and the 25-year-old himself likely waiting to see what league the club will be in next season before a decision is reached.
We asked Derby’s FLW fan pundit Shaun Woodward to name one player at the club that he really does not want to lose this summer, and he picked out Wilson.
He has urged the club to look to extend the right-back’s contract, no matter which division they are in, while he also believes that they must keep hold of both Nat Phillips and Matt Clarke following their recent impressive performances at the heart of their defence.
“It’s really hard for me to pick one player that I really don’t want us to lose this summer. If I am greedy, there are three,” Shaun told FLW.
“Kane Wilson is, for me, the obvious one, because he is out-of-contract. We desperately need to tie him down to a new deal, because he is our one shining light going forward.
“He can beat a man, he’s big, he’s strong. If he could sort out his goalscoring and his assists, just calm himself down in that final third, we have got one hell of a player on our hands.
