Clough Elated To Land Forsyth

Rams boss expresses his delight at bringing defender Craig to Pride Park Stadium.

The 24-year-old left-back put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal with the Rams yesterday after an undisclosed fee was agreed with the Hornets last week.

Forsyth was Clough’s number one left-back target this summer after he impressed during a loan spell at Pride Park last season.

The Derby boss has described the Scotsman as ‘another important piece in the jigsaw’ in his preparations for next season.

His arrival means Derby have now landed four players this summer with Lee Grant (Burnley), Chris Martin (Norwich City) and Johnny Russell (Dundee United) committing their future to the Club.

On Forsyth’s signing, Clough commented: “It’s a great addition and we’re really pleased Craig has finally joined us.

“It’s taken a bit of time but we’ve remained patient and it’s very pleasing to get him signed.

“He did very well during his loan spell and we think he’s got all the right attributes to be a very good left back for us.

“We know he can play in a number of positions too which is always a good string to have to your bow, but from what we’ve seen of him already we think he’s very strong at left-back.

“He’s at the right age and provides some height for us as well, so it’s a good all-round signing and another important piece in the jigsaw.”

Derby are looking to mount a top six challenge this time around and build on finishing 10th in the Championship in 2012-13 and Clough says his squad is coming together nicely.

He said: “We’re getting there with the squad we’d like.

“There’s a bit of work to do on the outs and we are quite relaxed on bringing in a centre-back at the moment.

“There’s two months left of the window and John Brayford is also capable of playing there, so it’s not like we’re short of options.

“Mark O’Brien is making good progress too after having a knee operation a few months ago, and he’s actually ahead of schedule.

“We’re relaxed on the situation and if something comes up that we like, we’ll take a look at it – but we certainly won’t rush ourselves.”

Watch more from Nigel Clough in an exclusive interview on Rams Player.