Derby County are in advanced negotiations to re-sign Sammie Szmodics from Ipswich Town following his loan spell at the club last season.
Szmodics scored three goals and registered one assist in 13 Championship appearances for the Rams after joining the East Midlands outfit at the end of the winter transfer window.
The 30-year-old joined Ipswich in August 2024 following a prolific spell at Blackburn Rovers where he won the 2023/24 Championship Golden Boot, but fell out of favour at Portman Road with former Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna citing the "dressing room culture" as the reason behind loaning Szmodics to a division rival.
There was intrigue as to whether McKenna's sudden departure in June would open the door for Szmodics to force his way back into the Ipswich fold following their promotion to the Premier League.
However, as Gary O'Neil stocks up on attacking options following the capture of Edersonn from Toulouse and the pending arrival of Daizen Maeda from Celtic, Szmodics is set to depart and Derby are at the front of the queue.
As reported by John Percy of The Telegraph, Derby are in talks to re-sign Szmodics, with the Rams discussing the possibility of another loan move or a permanent deal.
Szmodics worked under John Eustace at Blackburn and the forward's relationship with the manager means Derby hold an advantage over other interested parties, with Eustace's former club Birmingham City also keeping tabs.
The ex-Colchester United man still has two years remaining on his Ipswich contract but will likely be available for substantially less than the £9million initial fee the Tractor Boys splashed out to acquire him two years ago.
Derby are targeting a play-off berth in the upcoming campaign following the EFL's decision to expand the play-offs from four to six teams.
The Rams completed their third signing of the summer transfer window on Wednesday as they unveiled winger Filip Bilbija on a free transfer from German side Paderborn.
Eustace said in the latter stages of the previous campaign he was keen to see all of last season's loanees return to the club and Derby have already made Bobby Clark's stay permanent in a £6m deal from Red Bull Salzburg.
Bolstering their forward ranks is also high on the agenda, especially with Patrick Agyemang still facing several months out after rupturing his Achilles.
