"I'm pretty pleased": Derby County boss Paul Warne reflects on Dwight Gayle signing

Derby County boss Paul Warne added striker Dwight Gayle after top scorer James Collins was lost to injury to solve the Rams' striker issues.

The 34 year-old was a free agent and brought in quickly by the club, he will be available for selection on Saturday for the Rams' game against Barnsley.

Speaking to Rams TV, Paul Warne said he was pleased to be able to bring Gayle into the club. He said: "I'm pretty pleased, he’s a good kid.

"I think he settled in alright, the dressing room is amazing, it shouldn’t be too heavy a shirt for him to wear.

"When i met him, I explained how we do things here and I knew there were other teams interested. He trained well but this is the usual caveat with everyone we sign we’ve got to be a bit careful.

"He hasn’t done a lot in the last four weeks so we’re just building him up, but he will be available for selection on Saturday."

The former Newcastle United and Stoke City striker has had much success in the past and could be what Derby need to get them over the line and promoted.

However, Warne emphasised the priority of making sure they don't rush him into anything too quickly. He added: "He’s ready to be selected, whether I start with him and bring him off after 60 minutes or I bring him on or if the game doesn’t suit I do neither, but there is an option.

"With older players as we well know you have to more go on the side of caution because if I played him for 75 minutes on Saturday and then he got injured after three days of training and we missed him for 10 weeks it would be ridiculous so it makes sense to make the decision of what’s right from where his physical state is."

After Collins was ruled out due to his knee injury, the club had to act first as they had no fit strikers available for selection. They certainly did that even with the obstacle of getting the go-ahead from the EFL as they are still monitoring the club following the period in administration.

Warne said that he was pleased a deal could get done so quickly and for the right player, he added: "There were a few options out there, but Dwight was obviously top of my shopping list.

"The fact the club was able to jump through a few EFL hoops to get it done, it did take a lot of work from the club to make sure it got pushed over."

Gayle will likely feature on Saturday in some capacity and will be hoping to make a big difference in a crucial game against promotion rivals Barnsley.