With Nigel having already admitted interest in finding a long term loan midfielder with Premier league pedigree, Rams Chairman Adam Pearson has finally confirmed who those targets may be.
It is no surprise that one is last season’s loan signing Barry Bannan from Aston Villa, who was quite impressive during a spell of games when an injury stricken Derby limped home to safety. The second possibility was mentioned by the Chairman and if signed would take the place of Nacer Barazite as the Rams loan Gunner.
That Gunner is Mark Randall, a 19 year old midfielder who has seen first team action for the Gunners as well as getting a taste of Champions League football in his 11 appearances. Randall has managed to start in only 4 of his games and was unable to secure a place in the Arsenal squad last season but was thought of highly enough to be made Captain of Arsenal’s reserves team.
At 19 he has international experience for the England U-18’s and Wegner may see him as a perfect candidate for development with regular first team football at another club.
The youngster has previous Championship experience having played 10 games on loan at Burnley in 07/08 season but returned to Arsenal and soon after made his Premier league debut.
After much speculation in the media recently about such a move, Adam Pearson finally confirmed the interest when speaking to the ‘Derby Evening Telegraph’:
"Mark Randall is a player we are certainly aware of and he falls into the bracket of the type we are looking to bring in on a long loan".
The statement does not exactly say ‘yes’ but when a chairman does not deny links to a player, then it often confirms interest as much as an affirmative answer.
The Rams are no stranger to long term loan deals that have produced varying success over past seasons. Two other Arsenal players loaned by the Rams in Lupoli and Barazite brought inconsistent performances but undoubted skill and creativity.
Many loans came and went in recent years but the best would have to be Leon Osman. Not only did his injection into the Derby team spark performances that helped the club escape relegation, he returned to Everton and became an elite player in the top flight. If Randall could produce anything akin to Osman’s performance then he would be a revelation for the coming season.
Arsene Wenger is no slouch in identifying young talent and finding players who other managers overlook. His job at Arsenal has been made harder in recent seasons by having less money to spend than the other top clubs but still managing to unearth talent while many are writing his team off. If Derby can negotiate a loan for Randall then there will be many fingers crossed that Arsene has once again has spotted a player for the future.
Looking at the type of players that Nigel Clough has targeted it is unlikely Randall if of the same ilk of Barazite who provided flashes of brilliance without the work ethic. Instead Randall would need to prove he is able to play the style of hard working football Clough is aiming for.
I am sure that if a deal is struck then both Arsene and Clough will have agreed that he is exactly that type of player. In turn fans will hope that if this loan move eventuates, it returns a little more interest than those of the past that failed to mature in a Derby shirt.