Derby County Opinion: Rams should sign Gavin Massey on a free transfer
According to Derbyshire Live, Derby County are interested in signing Wigan Athletic attacker Gavin Massey in the summer, with arch-rivals Nottingham Forest also interested in securing the services of the 26-year-old Englishman.
Massey is out of contract at the DW Stadium in the summer and it is unlikely that the 26-year-old would sign a new contract with the Latics, who find themselves in a relegation dogfight at the bottom of the Championship standings.
Along with Nick Powell, who is also out of contract at the end of the season, Massey has been one of the shining lights of Wigan’s otherwise lacklustre season in the second tier, though his figures do not necessarily do justice to his contribution.
The 26-year-old has chipped in with 5 goals and an assist in 20 league appearances for the Latics and most recently netted a brace in his team’s 2-1 victory over promotion-hopefuls Leeds United.
Massey came through the youth ranks at Watford and made his debut for the Hornets back in 2010 but he never really managed to nail down a first-team role at Vicarage Road.
Instead, he spent time on loan at lower division clubs Wealdstone, Yeovil Town and Colchester United before joining the latter permanently in 2012. Massey netted 21 goals from 170 appearances for Colchester over a four-year spell before moving on to Leyton Orient in 2016.
The 26-year-old joined Wigan Athletic in League One in the summer of 2017 on a free transfer and helped the Latics secure promotion to the Championship. Massey has scored 11 goals for his current club from 70 appearances in all competitions, assisting a further 8.
To put things into perspective, Gavin Massey is not the kind of player who would create a lot of noise amongst the fans at Pride Park but the Rams would do themselves no harm by getting him on board for free.
A player who has spent most of his career playing in the lower echelons of English football, Massey doesn’t boast of an eye-catching record in the Championship either. and he has done very little to convince that he can be a marquee signing. However, signing him on a free transfer is likely to boost Derby’s squad depth and team dynamics.
Massey is a versatile player who can play out wide on the right and also as a central striker, though he has predominantly been used on the flanks at Wigan this season.
Harry Wilson has been an influential figure for the Rams on the right-hand side of the attack and Frank Lampard would need to look for alternatives when the Liverpool loanee returns to Anfield following the expiry of his loan spell at the end of the season.
Derby do have the likes of Florian Jozefzoon, Duane Holmes and Mason Bennett as options out wide on the right but neither of them has been able to nail down a regular spot in the team.
Martyn Waghorn has done reasonably well for the Rams, playing on the right of the front three with Jack Marriott spearheading the attack, but they can certainly do with more options in their ranks.
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Gavin Massey won’t be the best possible addition to the squad, as he is yet to prove that he is capable of delivering the goods consistently.
Nevertheless, he might prove to be a useful squad player at Pride Park if Derby stay in the Championship for another season to challenge for promotion to the Premier League.
