Derby Sign Goalkeeper Vickers As Squad Rebuild Continues

Derby County have added Josh Vickers to their squad ahead of the upcoming 2023/24 season.

The goalkeeper has agreed to join the Rams on a three-year deal, which will run until the summer of 2026, once his contract with Sky Bet Championship side Rotherham United concludes this month.

Vickers, who is 27, will compete for a place between the posts alongside last season’s regular number one Joe Wildsmith.

A promotion winner in the EFL on two occasions in his career to date, Vickers will work under the watchful eye of First Team Goalkeeper Coach Andy Warrington, who he has worked under previously during his time at Rotherham and Lincoln City, on a daily basis.

Vickers has racked up almost 200 appearances in club football after initially starting his career at Premier League side Arsenal.

Josh Vickers In Profile

Vickers’ playing career began at Arsenal and he progressed through their youth system before signing a scholarship in 2012.

Whilst still a scholar in the 2013/14 season, Vickers gained valuable first-team experience at Isthmian League outfit Canvey Island. He played 32 times in all competitions and, after returning to the Gunners, he put pen-to-paper on a professional contract.

Another loan spell followed in his first year as a professional in 2014/15, this time with National League South side Concord Rangers, and Vickers played 31 times in total.

A permanent move away from Arsenal followed in the summer of 2015 as he sealed a switch to then Premier League club Swansea City. He didn’t enjoy any first team action over the season but was a regular for their Under-21 side and was also an unused substitute on one occasion.

The 2016/17 season saw Vickers move out on loan once more, this time to Sky Bet League Two side Barnet. He played 26 times during the season as he continued his development prior to leaving Swansea in the summer of 2017 at the end of his contract.

Vickers joined Lincoln City on a permanent basis after of the 2017/18 season having previously played under the Imps’ then management duo Danny and Nicky Cowley at Concord Rangers and recorded 20 appearances in his first season at Sincil Bank.

He played 21 times in the 2018/19 campaign as Lincoln claimed the League Two title, the first promotion of his career, and he further established himself in the side in 2019/20 in League One as he registered 37 appearances before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vickers moved on at the end of his contract in the summer of 2020 by moving to Rotherham United, then managed by Paul Warne, and he provided cover behind fellow shot-stoppers Jamal Blackman and Viktor Johansson.

He contributed in the Millers’ 2021/22 promotion from League One, and EFL Trophy success against Sutton United, by playing 25 times across the season and he went on to play on five further occasions back in the Championship during the 2022/23 campaign.