Derby County are planning for life without Eiran Cashin, the Rams are resigned to losing their star defender this January to a potential Premier League suitor.

TEAMTalk are reporting that the highly rated Derby defender is wanted by West Ham United, Burnley and Sheffield United from the top flight, whilst Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough in the Championship also remain keen to land the 22-year-old.

The League One Rams will just hope that losing Cashin won't derail their efforts to win promotion from the division, the Northern Ireland U21 international has been key at the back in recent victories for Paul Warne's men.

His performance in Derby's narrow 1-0 win last time out against Port Vale in the league saw football writer Leigh Curtis shower the young defender with praise, stating that the 22-year-old was "formidable" at the back alongside his equally resolute centre-back partner, Curtis Nelson.

Cashin did help Warne's side come away with the three points and a clean sheet, Derby's number six clearing the ball away eight times from danger during the 90 minutes – as per Sofascore – to completely nullify the Valiants in attack.

Derby's manager will want the money the club get from Cashin's sale to be immediately recouped, splashing the cash on a sufficient replacement for the outgoing defender.

Here are three players Derby could target this January to fill the gap left by Cashin potentially leaving Pride Park…

1 Nelson Abbey

Derby could look to replace Cashin with another promising defensive talent in Nelson Abbey, the 20-year-old standing out at the back for Reading even in their current dire situation.

The Royals have been carved open at times this season – Ruben Selles' side consists of young and hungry footballers trying their best amidst difficult circumstances – but Abbey can still hold his head up high in a leaky defence.

Starting all but one of Reading's games this season, the 20-year-old is beginning to mature already. On average this campaign, Abbey has recovered 6.5 balls per game as a tireless centre-back for the Royals whilst winning 50% of the duels that have also come his way.

Even when Reading were humbled 4-0 by Charlton Athletic in October, football journalist James Earnshaw singled out the youngster for being a constant "shining light" during tough times.

The Rams could well fancy testing the waters in the upcoming transfer window to see if the Royals would offload their academy graduate for a cut-price, Reading's number 32 tipped to have a bright future in the game.

2 Connor Taylor

Derby could attempt to pouch Connor Taylor from Bristol Rovers to soften the blow of Cashin leaving, the 22-year-old is a well-liked centre-back figure at the Memorial Stadium.

Taylor initially starred with the Gas on loan during their 2021-22 promotion campaign up to League One, the young centre-back scoring three times from the back that season to help his team go up automatically.

The defender then returned back to parent club Stoke City with a bit between his teeth and a renewed eagerness to break into the first team with the Potters, Taylor playing 14 times in the Championship on his return before being offloaded back to Rovers on a permanent deal this summer.

The 22-year-old might not want to relocate again so quickly after recently packing his bags to move back to Bristol, but if Taylor aspires to return back to the second tier as a footballer, he could see Derby as a way to get back there if the Rams win promotion come the end of the 46-game season.

3 Marvin Ekpiteta

Derby could, however, go down the route of adding an experienced defender to their already seasoned squad – the Rams boasting the likes of former Aston Villa man Conor Hourihane in their ranks, alongside ex-Luton Town striker James Collins.

Signing Marvin Ekpiteta would also weaken a League One promotion rival in Blackpool if the defender did swap Bloomfield Road for Pride Park, a move that would anger fans of the seaside club.

In the Championship for Blackpool, the lofty centre-back was a consistent performer even when his side suffered relegation down to the third tier – picking up a Player of the Season accolade for the club during the 2021-22 season when the club staved off the drop, only to then fall through the relegation trapdoor the following campaign.

This season for the Tangerines, Ekpiteta has been solid at the back when needed especially in the last few games which has seen Neil Critchley's men pick up form and seal some impressive wins.

The standout result and performance was Blackpool's impressive 4-0 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park in their last away match, with the 28-year-old near faultless against an ineffective Pompey team.

Ekpiteta would win 80% of his duels in the one-sided contest, misplacing only five of his passes in the game too in what was a composed and confident display from the centre-back.

Derby might well try their luck this January to see if Blackpool would be willing to sell their 6 foot 4 man, slotting in at the back where Cashin once played.