Pre-Match Thoughts: John-Jules 'Happy' To Extend Rams Stay

Striker Tyreece John-Jules says he's 'happy' to have extended his stay with Derby County.

The 22-year-old is on loan from Premier League side Arsenal and has made 13 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring twice.

He initially signed until January earlier in the campaign but he last week extended his loan spell until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Tuesday night's trip to Reading in Sky Bet League One (8pm kick-off), John-Jules spoke about remaining at Pride Park Stadium and his goals between now and the end of the campaign.

On extending his loan spell...

I'm happy. I've really settled in here and I feel I have settled in well with the lads and the staff. When I was injured earlier in the season, everyone looked after to me so it felt like the right decision to stay. I just want to push on now for the back end of the season. The gaffer has been building me up slowly and game-by-game, so I always felt like I wanted to stay here for the season and finish what we have started.

On his future beyond this season...

To be honest, I'm just thinking about now. All that will sort itself out when it comes to it. For now, I'm just thinking about finishing the season strongly here at Derby and getting as many games and minutes as possible.

On his overall fitness...

Touch wood, that's the last injury I'll have. I'm feeling good now and game-by-game I'm getting more minutes and feeling better. I'm not where I want to be at the moment, but the more minutes I get, it will come. I have to manage how much I do in training and how much I do in matches. If we have three games in a week, we have to see whether I can play in all of them. Credit to the medical team and all the staff, they've been managing my numbers and I'm staying fit, so hopefully that can continue.

On the dressing room...

It's a good dressing room. Everyone has been so welcoming, it's like a family in there. Everyone is so good to each other.

On who he's particularly close to...

There are a few different groups. We've got the 'Uno Group' who play Uno on the team coach with Nat (Mendez-Laing) and Kane (Wilson), but I'm close with everyone. I speak to everyone in the dressing room. We're all close.

On personal targets between now and the end of the season...

The main target for me is just staying injury free and playing as many minutes as possible. For the past few years, it has always been to try and get as many minutes as possible as I've had a lot of disruption. That's my main target. I feel like I haven't reached what I want to reach yet, so in terms of performance wise and goals wise, from now until the end of the season is where I need to pick it up and show everyone what I can do. I hope to play a big part between now and the end of the season.