Derby County boosted by major transfer coup ahead of Leeds United FA Cup tie

Derby County believe they have secured the signing of ‘one of the most exciting young talents in Europe’ - and he could be unleashed on Leeds United in Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie between the two sides.

The Rams completed their business of the January transfer window when they completed the permanent signing of defender Dion Sanderson after the Birmingham City star spent the first half of the season on loan at Pride Park. However, a first new face arrived earlier this week when County won the race to secure the signing of Denmark Under-21 midfielder Oscar Fraulo from Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach.

The 23-year-old midfielder joined Borussia from Midtjylland during the summer of 2022 and made a handful of appearances for his new club - but the majority of his senior experience has come during a two-season loan stint with Dutch outfit FC Utrecht. Fraulo scored six goals and provided seven assists in 64 appearances for the Eredivisie club before returning to Monchengladbach during the summer. He will now hope to make an immediate impact following his move to Derby and Rams boss Paul Warne has given a glowing assessment of his latest new addition.

He told the club website: "He is an excellent signing from the club. As I said before, he's been on the club's radar for the last year or so. To get it done now, he's one of the most exciting young talents in Europe and for him to come to Derby is a great coup. We're really happy that he's here. We know all about the lad, and what he wants to do. As I say, it's a really exciting signing and we're glad he's here."

What has Daniel Farke said about Derby County v Leeds United?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s tie with Derby, Farke spoke about the possibility of Leeds winning the FA Cup this season and of the challenge posed by their Championship hosts.

He said: “Biggest dream is to make sure we stay in the Premier League, this has to be the priority. Don’t want to come across as over-ambitious, not realistic for us as a newly-promoted side to win the FA Cup but we have shown in one game, against one of the top sides we are capable of getting results. Also have to be respectful of an away game against Derby County, we know how difficult it is. I also found it really difficult to win against John Eustace in the Championship so the players have to help me a little bit.”

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