[themaclad]

Derby County have signed goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from Swedish side Djurgarden on a three-year contract.

The 6ft 6in keeper had been linked with the Rams throughout the summer, with his move complicated by Djurgarden's involvement in the qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

Zetterstrom has one full international cap for his country, which came last year in a friendly against Iceland.

Originally joining Djurgarden as an eight-year-old, he began his senior career with lower-league club IFK Lidingo before returning to the Stockholm side and making his debut for them in 2021.

Since then, Zetterstrom has been first choice between the posts for Djurgarden, making 104 appearances in all competitions.

Josh Vickers has started in goal during the Rams' first two games of the season - a 4-2 defeat at Blackburn and a 2-1 League Cup success against Chesterfield in midweek.

[themaclad]

Derby County defender Curtis Nelson has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Pride Park until the summer of 2026.

The 31-year-old played every minute of Derby's League One campaign last season, helping them win promotion back to the Championship.

He was voted as the club’s Player and Players’ Player of the Season, having been a central figure in a Rams defence that conceded just 37 league goals and kept 22 clean sheets across all competitions.

The former Blackpool, Cardiff City, Oxford United and Plymouth Argyle defender has remained as an integral part of Paul Warne's defence this season, starting every league match since returning to the second tier.

[themaclad]

Derby County have re-signed centre-back Matt Clarke from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old moves to Pride Park, where he has had two previous loan spells, on a permanent deal that runs until the end of the season.

He joins a Rams side that has lost mainstay centre-back Curtis Nelson to injury for the rest of the season, while Eiran Cashin's future at the heart of their defence is also in doubt with Premier League club Brighton strongly linked with the 23-year-old.

Clarke was a Brighton player when he was loaned to Derby across two seasons from 2019 to 2021, in which time he made 81 appearances.


The following season he helped the Rams narrowly avoid relegation, and returns with them in a similar battle for survival.

"As soon as I heard there was a possibility to come back I was over the moon," Clarke told Derby's website., external

"It's the third time and it shows how much I've enjoyed being here, and from the club's point of view I've done something right or they wouldn't keep bringing me back."

In between his last stint at Derby and moving to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022, he also had a loan spell at West Bromwich Albion.

Clarke made 51 appearances for Boro in his two and a half seasons on Teesside, including 17 this season.

"I was in a situation where I was around the squad but maybe not playing as many minutes as I'd like, so I was looking to get out and get some game time somewhere and Derby popped up," Clarke said.

[themaclad]

Derby County have completed the signing of centre-back Sondre Langas from Norwegian top-flight side Viking on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

The 23-year-old Norway international is the second player the Rams have recruited from the Eliteserien side for an undisclosed fee in the winter transfer window, following the addition of forward Lars-Jorgen Salvesen.

Langas featured in all 30 of Viking's matches last season as they finished third in the table.

In total, he made 40 appearances for the club after he joined them from second tier Norwegian side Ranheim in August 2023.

He arrives at Derby a day after the club sold Eiran Cashin to Premier League side Brighton for £9m.

He is also the second centre-back signed by the club in the past week, with Matt Clarke arriving from Middlesbrough after Curtis Nelson was ruled out for the season.

[themaclad]

Derby County have signed former Rangers and Leeds United striker Kemar Roofe on a deal until the end of the season.

The 32-year-old has been a free agent since last summer when he was released by the Scottish Premiership side.

Roofe, who earned five international caps for Jamaica in 2021, last featured in English football with Leeds in 2019.

His time with the Yorkshire side ended with a goal against Derby at Pride Park in the first leg of a Championship play-off semi-final tie that the Rams went on to sensationally win on aggregate at Elland Road.

Roofe says becoming the first signing of new Derby boss John Eustace was not something he expected.

"I'm here now and I'm excited to get going," he told the club website., external

He was released after four years with Rangers, a club where he won the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup.

The forward says he has worked hard while waiting for an opportunity to restart his career.

"It was down to mental strength, to get through what I needed to get through," he said.

Roofe joins a Derby side that are in the Championship relegation places and who have managed to score just four goals in a 10-game winless league run dating back to late December.

[themaclad]

Derby County have re-signed midfielder Jeff Hendrick on a deal to the end of the season.

The Republic of Ireland international has been without a club since leaving Newcastle United at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Hendrick, 33, began his career with the Rams and played 214 games before moving to Burnley in 2016.

He rejoins a Derby side currently bottom of the Championship and seven points from safety with 11 games left to play.

Boss John Eustace confirmed earlier this week that Hendrick had been training at the club.

"Obviously, Jeff knows the club inside out, he was here when I was playing as well, so I know the kind of character he is," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"I think he'll help the dressing room from now until the end of the season. He's a very fit, athletic lad, looks no different now to when I was playing with him, and has had a fantastic career."

Hendrick has played more than 400 club games and during his time at Newcastle also had loan spells with QPR, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.

He last played for Wednesday in a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in April last year.

"I turned some things down over the summer and January, they just didn't feel right to me, didn't excite me," Hendrick told the Derby website.

"I'm not fully fit. You can't be unless you're training and playing games but the main thing was getting in amongst the group and getting sharper."

Hendrick added: "I'm an older player now, so maybe I can bring a bit of experience to help players in any way I can. If I didn't think I could bring something, there'd be no point in me coming here and being away from my family."

Derby are at home to Eustace's former club Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

[themaclad]

Veteran Dutch defender Erik Pieters has signed a contract with Derby County until the end of the season.

The 36-year-old, who can play at left-back or in central defence, had been a free agent after his brief spell with Championship rivals Luton ended in January.

Pieters, a former Netherlands international with 18 caps, had been training alongside the Rams squad in recent weeks.

He has spent more than a decade in English football, having joined Stoke City from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2013.

Pieters went on to make more than 200 appearances for the Potters, the bulk of them in the Premier League, before moving to Burnley.

The defender spent three further years in the top flight with the Clarets followed by two seasons at West Brom and, despite signing a short-term deal at Luton in December, left Kenilworth Road without playing.

[themaclad]

Defender Matt Clarke has signed a three-year deal to remain with Derby County after he helped the club avoid relegation from the Championship.

The 28-year-old left second-tier rivals Middlesbrough to rejoin the Rams for a third spell in January.

He returned to Pride Park on a short-term contract, running until the end of the season.

Clarke started in 15 of Derby's final 17 matches of the season and played an instrumental role in the East Midlands club's late-season resurgence that saw them avoid the drop of the final day.

Derby won six and drew three of their final 11 matches of the season to finish 19th in the table and just one point ahead of relegated Luton Town.

In April, Clarke told BBC East Midlands Today that the relegation battle he had been brought in for was something that needed to be "embraced", having previously helped the club stay up when they were managed by Wayne Rooney in 2021.

'Clarke has consistently delivered' - analysis
Dominic Dietrich, BBC Radio Derby's senior sports journalist:

Matt Clarke is a strong start to summer business for John Eustace as he looks to mould his Derby County side.

Clarke is in his third spell at Derby and one thing that's been consistent throughout is his ability to deliver at Championship level.

His role under Eustace has predominantly been on the left side of a back three, so it will be interesting to see how this changes and his role evolves if Eustace reverts back to his tried and trusted back four.

He arrived from play-off chasing Middlesbrough at the time, with Derby over the next three years I'm sure he'll want to be in that mix again.

[themaclad]

Long-serving Derby County defender Craig Forsyth is in talks to remain with the Championship club beyond this summer.

The 36-year-old has made 382 appearances in 12 years with the Rams.

Both he and 23-year-old midfielder Liam Thompson are in discussions about renewing their contracts after the club avoided relegation on the final day.

Manager John Eustace, who had Forsyth as a team-mate while playing for Derby a decade ago, made his feelings about the defender clear after this month's season-ending draw with Stoke City.

"He has led by example, he is Derby through and through and he is someone I want to keep at the club for sure, next season," Eustace said in the post-match media conference.

"He has been an unbelievable servant for the football club. It's easy to write players off because of their age, and when you are used to having someone around you take them for granted.

"His performances at left centre-half before he had to change to left wing-back were very good."

Meanwhile, Derby have released Tom Barkhuizen, Sonny Bradley, Tyrese Fornah, Jeff Hendrick, Rohan Luthra, Erik Pieters, Kemar Roofe and Conor Washington.

Barkhuizen played 22 times for the Rams this season, while Bradley spent the second half of the campaign on loan on at League One Wycombe, Fornah was at League Two Salford City for the whole season and goalkeeper Luthra ended the season on loan with non-league Spennymoor.

Hendrick, who failed to make an appearance on his return to the club, Roofe and Pieters all leave after signing on short-term deals to see out the campaign at Pride Park.