What John Eustace has said on Jerry Yates' Derby County future | OneFootball

The Rams boss has spoken ahead of Tuesday's clash with Burnley about whether the Rams will bring Jerry Yates in permanently this summer.

John Eustace has remained tight-lipped on Jerry Yates' future at Derby County, but he has not ruled out the on-loan Swansea City striker from returning to the club permanently in the summer.

The 28-year-old was forced to miss out on Saturday as the Rams faced his parent club in South Wales, with the Swans handing the visitors their first defeat since March 1, thanks to a late Eom Ji-sung goal.

The East Midlands outfit had won four successive Championship games for the first time since July 2020 heading into the clash, but they were unable to keep that run going as they had their momentum slowed heading into a tough game against Burnley on Tuesday evening.

Derby will be hoping to repeat their recent exploits at Pride Park and throw a spanner into the works in the race for Premier League football as the Clarets look to maintain their position at the top of the division.

Eustace comments on Yates' future at Derby

Yates has been a key player for both Paul Warne and Eustace this campaign, with the striker scoring eight goals in 36 league matches.

He has missed just four games all season, with two of those coming against Swansea, while the others came at the very start of 2024/25 as he served a suspension that he picked up on the final day of 2023/24.

While he still has a year left on his contract with the Swans, Derby may be tempted into signing the ex-Blackpool ace this summer after a solid term at Pride Park.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's match against Burnley, Eustace was asked by Derbyshire Live if he would like to keep hold of Yates for next season: "I think Jerry has done very well - that is something we will discuss at the end of the year," he said.

He then proceeded to speak about his absence on Saturday, and whether that had a part to play in the defeat.

"Jerry's been great," Eustace continued.

"He scored on Wednesday [against Preston] but [Kayden] Jackson came in and did well, he worked his socks off as the rest of the group did."

Yates will want to add more goals to his game next season wherever he is playing

While he has been a force in this Derby team for his work off the ball, Yates has sometimes left a little bit to be desired in the final third and he has to find more consistency in front of goal.

He scored three goals in three matches back in November to take his tally for the season to four, but he has added just four more strikes in the 22 games since, when the Rams have needed a player to be a threat in the box.

However, with more creativity around him, there is no doubt that Yates can become more efficient when given the opportunity to score and his pressing and energy has pleased Eustace since he arrived at the club in February.

Derby need a prolific striker, but they also need a player that will do the dirty work and drive the team onwards and the 28-year-old could be exactly that for them once again next season.