Derby County have experienced a busy January transfer window as John Eustace bids to bolster his side’s top-six ambitions by sanctioning a mixture of incomings and outgoings, and Football League World can now exclusively reveal that another exit from Pride Park is very much on the cards ahead of Monday’s 7pm deadline.
The Rams have been more competitive in the 2025/26 Championship campaign after narrowly avoiding relegation last time out, with Eustace’s outfit sitting in 11th – just two points shy of sixth-placed Wrexham – heading into this evening’s trip to fellow play-off hopefuls Bristol City.
Derby have lost only two of their last ten league encounters, although consistency remains an issue that will be ironed out if they are to secure a top-six finish for the first time since Frank Lampard’s unsuccessful run to the play-off final against Aston Villa in 2019.
Eustace has been busy throughout the course of the month, adding both Jayden Banel and Oscar Fraulo to his squad from Burnley and Borussia Mönchengladbach respectively, while agreeing a permanent deal for defender Dion Sanderson amid a rejected bid for the late-window signing of Ipswich Town attacker Sammie Szmodics.
The exit door has been passed through rather frequently, too, with two inspirational figures from the club’s 2023/24 League One promotion-winning season leaving permanently in Ebou Adams and Curtis Nelson, whereas Corey Blackett-Taylor and Richard O’Donnell have departed on loan.
Now, with just days remaining of the mid-season window, sources have informed FLW of yet another potential departure from Derbyshire gathering pace.
Derby County’s Kayden Jackson in talks to seal Bradford City transfer
Football League World can exclusively disclose that the player in question is Kayden Jackson, with League One promotion hopefuls Bradford City registering a strong interest in acquiring the 31-year-old’s services following links to Wycombe Wanderers.
It’s understood that Jackson, who has found himself surplus to requirements under Eustace this term, is in talks with the Bantams over a potential move, which could be completed in the coming days following 18 months in the East Midlands.
FLW has also learned that the basis of the deal in question is a permanent one, with Bradford eager to improve their forward line ahead of a fresh push for promotion to the Championship.
Jackson featured in all 46 second-tier fixtures for Derby in the previous campaign after joining from Ipswich, but has lost his place following the arrivals of Patrick Agyemang, Ben Brereton Diaz, Rhian Brewster and Carlton Morris over the summer.
The versatile attacker has made 19 Championship appearances this term, but only two of those have been starts and it’s perhaps little surprise that we could see Jackson on his way out of Derby before Monday evening.
Derby County, Bradford City transfer for Kayden Jackson may benefit all parties
It could be a deal in which all involved parties stand to benefit. Jackson’s two-year contract is set to expire in the summer and Derby could be able to collect some sort of fee for his signature, and he clearly does not feature in Eustace’s thinking.
Derby, of course, have no shortage of attacking options and would benefit from streamlining what’s at Eustace’s disposal, whereas Jackson himself still has plenty to offer at a lower level at the age of 31 and will want to be playing regular football elsewhere.
Capable of playing out wide or centrally, the ex-Accrington Stanley frontman’s versatility, energy and athleticism would make him a shrewd stylistic fit in Graham Alexander’s high-octane Bradford side, which has lost crucial momentum in the League One promotion race as of late and requires additional firepower.
With Jackson possessing third-tier promotion-winning experience from his days at Ipswich, he represents a strong option for Bradford to pursue in their search for fresh forward additions, with FLW having separately revealed interest from the Bantams in Port Vale’s Devante Cole and Burton Albion talisman Jake Beesley this week.
