Derby County join League One rivals in transfer battle for Championship striker

Derby County and Portsmouth are both interested in Cardiff City’s James Collins, who is available for a move this summer.

The 31-year-old spent the previous campaign with the Bluebirds but he failed to establish himself as a regular under Steve Morison, making just 26 appearances, many from the bench, and managing just three goals.

Therefore, with Morison overseeing a major overhaul at Cardiff this summer, many changes have happened and further are expected.

And, according to Football Insider, the Rams and Pompey are both looking to do a deal for Collins, who has no future with the Welsh side.

Derby are obviously in desperate need to strengthen their squad after David Clowes completed his takeover of the club last week, with boss Liam Rosenior working with a threadbare squad at the moment.

Meanwhile, Danny Cowley is also keen on a new number nine as he tries to build a Portsmouth squad that can push for the play-offs after they fell short in the previous campaign.

Collins has starred in League One over the years, including scoring 25 goals as Luton won promotion in the 2018/19 season.

The verdict

You’d have to say that Collins would be a good signing for most clubs in League One, so Derby and Portsmouth are targeting someone who will improve them.

For Collins, his time at Cardiff will have been frustrating last season and he will understand that he needs to drop down a level to get regular game time.

So, you would expect something to happen in the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see where the Ireland international ends up.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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