Derby County Faces West Ham: Squad Challenges and New Signings

Derby County head to the capital this weekend with momentum in the bank and bodies on the treatment table.

Tuesday’s hard-earned win over Portsmouth has steadied nerves after a bruising defeat at Swansea, but West Ham United away is a very different examination. The title favourites swept aside Wolves in midweek. Derby arrive at the London Stadium as underdogs, patched up, but with three deadline-day signings – Eiran Cashin, Mohammed Fuseini and David Ozoh – ready to be thrown straight into the fight if needed.

John Eustace will need them. His squad is creaking.

Carlton Morris: Short-term, but badly timed

Carlton Morris should have been leading the line in a game like this. Instead, he is watching from the sidelines.

The striker suffered a calf problem in the 2-2 draw with Cardiff City and has missed both the defeat at Swansea and the victory over Portsmouth. Eustace expects him to be out for around two weeks, which rules him out of the West Ham trip and leaves Derby lighter in the one area you can’t afford to be shy against a top side: up front.

Craig Forsyth: A worrying sight

Some injuries you can write off as “one of those things”. Craig Forsyth’s was not one of them.

The veteran defender had to come off in the second half against Portsmouth and needed help to leave the pitch. The images were grim. Eustace did not sugar-coat it afterwards.

“It doesn’t look good,” he admitted. “He’s not very comfortable down in the dressing room at the moment. I thought he was excellent with his experience and know-how. I thought he was top drawer, as were the rest of the boys.”

Derby will learn more when Eustace faces the media before West Ham, but the tone of that initial reaction told its own story. Losing Forsyth, especially after that kind of performance, would cut deep.

Lewis Travis: Captain in limbo

The sight of Lewis Travis trudging off against Swansea was another blow in a grim afternoon.

The skipper took a heavy knock in the second half of the 3-0 defeat and did not recover in time to face Portsmouth. He has been sent for a scan to determine the full extent of the damage, and until those results land, Derby are in limbo.

With a trip to the London Stadium looming, the captain’s availability becomes a central question. Eustace will be pressed on it before the weekend. He knows that, in this kind of fixture, you want your leader on the pitch, not in the stands.

Derry Murkin: From promise to setback

Few players had generated as much quiet optimism as Derry Murkin.

The full-back has not played since the 2-1 defeat to Norwich in April after undergoing minor back surgery, but he attacked his rehab across the summer and even took part in an open training session before the first game of the season. His name on the under-21s teamsheet against Hull City looked like the final step back.

Then came the hamstring.

Murkin had to pull out of that game and Eustace confirmed last week that he will be out for four months. A harsh twist for a player who had impressed following his January move from Utrecht and looked ready to kick on.

Murkin later posted on Instagram: “Road to recovery starts now” and, in a telling aside, added: “And stay fit would be nice.” The frustration is obvious. So is the determination.

Matt Clarke: A 12-week hole in defence

Derby’s defensive issues do not end there.

Matt Clarke came off at half-time in the Carabao Cup defeat to Lincoln City with a calf problem and was seen in a protective boot as a precaution. He then missed the opening-day loss to Charlton and sat out the Cardiff draw.

Before that Cardiff game, Eustace delivered the news no manager wants to give: Clarke will be out for around 12 weeks.

“I think he’ll be out for 12 weeks so that’s a huge blow,” he said. “But it gives somebody else an opportunity to step up and do well.

“I think when you look at Patrick and Matt being out, they are two hugely influential players for us. But, again, it gives somebody else the opportunity. We try to create a no-excuse culture here, and whoever steps up will be ready.

“It’s about the squad. It’s always about the squad of players, and they’ll roll their sleeves up and always give their best. Sometimes you might not get the results that you want, but over the course of the season, we’ll be good with the group of players that we have.”

It is an admirable stance. It will also be tested to its limits in the coming weeks.

Patrick Agyemang: Long road back for a key man

If Clarke’s absence is painful, Patrick Agyemang’s is season-shaping.

The USA international ruptured his Achilles in April’s win over Stoke City, an injury that cost him a place at the World Cup and will keep him out until December or January. For a £5.8m striker who lit up Pride Park last season, it is a brutal interruption.

Agyemang has been working at Moor Farm throughout the summer, building his strength and fitness, but Derby will not take risks. They cannot. His long-term importance to the club outweighs any short-term temptation to rush him back.

A test of depth and resolve

So Derby go to West Ham with fresh faces in Cashin, Fuseini and Ozoh, but without some of their most influential figures.

The challenge is obvious: contain one of the division’s strongest squads while stitching together a reshuffled XI, and do it in a stadium that rarely forgives hesitation.

Eustace talks about a “no-excuse culture”. This weekend, in the shadow of the London Stadium, we find out how deep that culture really runs.