"The right time" - Luton Town urged to cash in on experienced player as Derby County circle | OneFootball

FLW's Luton Town fan pundit believes now is the right time to part ways with Cauley Woodrow amid interest from Derby County.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Cauley Woodrow is being linked with a move away from Luton Town to Championship new boys Derby County, with Paul Warne keen to add another striker to their ranks before the end of the transfer window.

According to a recent report from journalist Alan Nixon via Patreon, Woodrow is a target for the Rams, but Luton will need to find a replacement before any deal can be made between the two Championship clubs.

Woodrow scored just once in the Premier League in 2023/24, but is vastly experienced in the second tier, having found the back of the net 46 times in 213 games in his career so far, where he has had success for the likes of Fulham, Burton Albion, and Barnsley.

Despite signing Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson already this summer, Derby are still lacking firepower up top, with neither Conor Washington nor James Collins getting any younger. Collins led the line for Derby in the previous campaign, and fired in 14 League One goals.

However, his Championship record is less than inspiring, and he may struggle to be the same player at this level that he once was, prompting Warne to look elsewhere.

As for Luton, they currently boast the likes of Carlton Morris, Elijah Adebayo, Jacob Brown, and Joe Taylor in their forward line, perhaps highlighting Woodrow's lowly place in the striker pecking order.

Derby target Luton's Cauley Woodrow

Despite a steady flow of goals for Barnsley in both the second and third tier, Woodrow has struggled in the last couple of years since joining Luton and is perhaps in need of a fresh challenge at the age of 29.

FLW'sLuton Town fan pundit Finley Cannon believes that now is the right time for the club to part ways with Woodrow, who has had some fantastic moments in a Luton shirt without ever being a reliable goalscorer.

He said: "Whilst Cauley Woodrow is one of our own at Luton Town, I think his time at the club is probably rightfully coming to an end.

"If we can cash in on him, then I think it is best for all parties. He will want more game time and he can get that at Derby.

"And the club can get some money back. He's never really hit the ground running here at Luton and his goal record is very poor and has frustrated fans at times. "Whilst he does work incredibly hard in attacking areas, he doesn't get into positions to finish chances and he doesn't really create that many, either. "He did pop up with a crucial goal or two for us last season, including a very late winner against Everton away in the FA Cup. I am sure that will stick with fans for a long time. "I think him leaving now would be the best thing for his relationship with the fans and their opinion of him as well. They can see that he's worked hard in the Premier League. "He also stepped up when we were really lacking players through injuries as well.

"I think it would make space for somebody like Joe Taylor to play more minutes as well, and that is really something the fans are crying out for - it's something that needs to happen."

Woodrow closes in on Luton Town exit

Woodrow offers more to a side than just goals, but has not been a successful player with Luton over the past couple of seasons, in part due to the fact he was more of a squad player or substitute for depth.

There is every chance that with more starts at Derby, he could be a success at second tier level. Some players can impact games far better when given the opportunity to build up their form over an extended run of games.

Woodrow's stop-start career at Luton was less than ideal as an environment to see him thrive, and Warne has a habit of making at least one of the strikers in his squad a major success. Could Woodrow be the next in line?