With the countdown to Derby County’s new Sky Bet Championship season just hours away, Richard Keogh has spoken about why the club’s three new signings to date will prove to be ‘invaluable’.
Curtis Davies, Andre Wisdom and Tom Huddlestone are all in line to make their competitive debuts – the latter two for a second time – when the Rams face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light tonight, kick-off: 7:45pm.
The trio have all made immediate impressions over pre-season and Keogh, the 30-year-old Derby captain, has praised Gary Rowett for the shrewdness he has shown so far in this summer’s transfer window.
He told RamsTV ahead of tonight’s trip to Sunderland: “Whenever a new manager comes into a new squad he, naturally, wants to put his own stamp on it.
“This summer has been a bit of a change. We have lost some good players, some good lads, but the signings we have brought in have added some real steel to the team and the squad.
“Tom (Huddlestone), Curt (Curtis Davies) and Andre (Wisdom) have all played in the Premier League and their experience is going to be invaluable.
“They have settled into the group really well so, from that side of things, the manager has brought in some really good signings.”
During every Championship season comes its highs and his lows.
Above all else, Keogh feels the Rams’ newest recruits will be players that the whole squad can lean on when they are navigating through difficult spells.
He added: “We can all lean on their experience. Take Tom and Curt for example. We saw them and played against them during that season Hull went up and those two would have been invaluable to that.
“When the going gets tough you can draw on their experience. Those two have become leaders in the group and you can never have too many of them.
“The manager deserves credit for bringing those type of players in.”