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09:59, 06 Jan 2026
John Eustace says he is unaware of any offers for Derby County defender Curtis Nelson but admits he currently cannot find a place for him on the substitutes' bench.
Nelson has been left out of the last two games against Middlesbrough and Wrexham with the defender out of contract in the summer.
With Matt Clarke, Sondre Langas and Dion Sanderson cementing their place in the starting XI and Danny Batth providing cover on the bench, Nelson faces an intriguing January.
He is unlikely to be short of offers should he be made available and asked if any had been made for Nelson, Eustace told DerbyshireLive: "No, not that I'm aware of.
"Curtis is part of the squad. Obviously, we can't carry too many defenders on the bench, but when he's been called upon so far, he's been great.
"In the Birmingham game, he came on and he was terrific.
"We want to do right by all the players, and he's getting treated exactly the same as the others.
"We just can't get him on the bench at the moment."
Ryan Nyambe is also a player who has not been on the bench recently, and with Derby needing to trim the squad to accommodate new signings, Derby may well consider offers for the former Blackburn defender.
With Max Johnston still a couple of weeks away from fitness, Joe Ward has proven to be more than able to fill in at wing-back. And when the latter was sent off against Birmingham, Sondre Langas could also slot in on the right-hand side should the need arise.
Nyambe's last appearance for Derby came in a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough in November and his last appearance on the substitutes' bench came in the 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday last month.
Derby have already added two players this month with Oscar Fraulo putting pen to paper on a deal from Borussia Monchengladbach while Dion Sanderson made his loan move from Birmingham permanent for an undisclosed fee.
Derby do have room to move in the loan market now as a result of Sanderson's move and the fact that Owen Beck's return to Liverpool after injury has been made official.
Eustace said he would consider dipping into the loan market if he could, but stressed any players would have to improve the squad.
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