The Rams head coach made two acquisitions on deadline day, but neither was a forward, and the free agent market remains open.
Paul Warne has basically ruled out signing a free-agent striker for Derby County because he would have to cut someone from his 25-man roster.
The Rams did not recruit a number nine on deadline day, as Marcus Harness and Nat Phillps arrived from Ipswich and Liverpool, respectively. Derby made only two signings on deadline day, but the free agent market remains open for them to add a forward.
However, Derby must submit a 25-man roster to the Football League, and adding another player would need someone to sit in the stands until January. But Warne is content to stick with what he has.
“Unless I am blown away by something, I don’t forsee bringing in a free agent,” he said. “I don’t see that. You have to name your 25-man squad which can’t be changed. Dajaune Brown doesn’t count (under-21). And if I was to bring somebody in now, I would have to omit somebody who is currently on the roster.
“I would have to have a conversation to say look, unfortunately, until January you are picking the bibs up. It is not my style to be honest. We tinkered with the six-loan option at one stage, but it wasn’t a problem in the end. Six loans at a club that I have never done because one can never get in the squad and that is not the dream that I sell.”