At the very start of the week, Patrick Agyemang was not a name that Derby County supporters were familiar with.
However, by the time the early hours of Wednesday morning rolled about, Rams fans started to get very excited as Fabrizio Romano revealed that the Championship side are closing in on a deal for the striker.
The USA international is the second number nine to be linked with a move to Pride Park this summer, as Derby await Carlton Morris’ arrival with a medical set to take place in the coming days.
John Eustace is also close to bringing Danny Batth to the club, with Andreas Weimann also set to re-join the Rams at the end of his Blackburn Rovers contract. However, there will be plenty of excitement over Agyemang and one retired USA legend has explained what the Championship should expect from him.
Tim Howard explains why Derby County must sign Patrick Agyemang
There is no denying that Agyemang is a relatively unknown character to the majority of supporters in the EFL, but with five goals in nine caps for his country, it’s clear to see that the 24-year-old is a promising forward.
While he has had some critics in the US, former Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, explained to his ex-Toffees teammate, Landon Donovan, the potential that the Charlotte FC ace has.
Howard said: “Agyemang for me, I hear different arguments. He’s a number nine that makes things happen – he does.
“You can talk about clinical finishing and so on. He makes things happen, he drags along. I know there’s going to be some people out there who disagree with me. Show me another US number nine who is dangerous.”
Dangerous can be categorised a bunch of different ways, but he can do things on his own and as a US striker, we’ve talked about this over and over again throughout the years. A US nine has to be able to do things by themselves, on their own.
“These games are comfortable, but when stuff really starts flying, you’re going to be isolated.
John Eustace is trying to fix the Rams’ scoring issues quickly
Jerry Yates, who is unlikely to re-join Derby this summer, finished as the club’s top scorer in the Championship last season on just 10 goals.
There is no denying that the Swansea City forward should have added more to his tally, but he was also left isolated for the majority of the campaign and it is no surprise to see Eustace making moves to fill the empty striker position at Pride Park.
| Appearances (starts) | 16 (15) |
| Minutes played | 1238 |
| Goals (assists) | 6 (1) |
| xG | 5.14 |
| Shots (on target) | 35 (18) |
| Pass accuracy | 77.1% |
| Chances created | 19 |
Agyemang and Morris will be a threat for Derby if they do join, and with Lars-Jorgen Salvesen set to return after injury, Eustace may finally have the threat that they have needed for some time in the final third.
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