Medical today: Derby County agree to sign James Collins – Sources
Derby County have agreed a deal to sign Cardiff City striker James Collins on a free transfer, sources have told Football Insider.
The Republic of Ireland international, 31, is due to have a medical at Pride Park on Wednesday.
Collins, who is set to sign a two-year deal at Derby, is the latest new face as the club look to rebuild their squad following relegation to League One.
Football Insider first revealed Derby’s interest in landing Collins last week (5 July), with Portsmouth racing the Rams to complete a deal.
The hitman was not part of the Cardiff squad which beat Newport County 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday (12 July).
The Republic of Ireland international moved to the Cardiff City Stadium on a free transfer from Luton Town last summer and has 12 months left on his contract at the club.
Collins made 29 league appearances during the 2021/22 campaign – 13 of which came from the start.
The hitman netted three goals in all competitions last season – a drop-off from his return of 13 in 44 appearances for Luton in the 2020/21 campaign.
Collins started his career at Aston Villa but failed to make a senior appearance for the club.
He has notched decent goal returns across two spells with Shrewsbury – as well as for Swindon, Hibernian, Northampton, and Crawley.
However, the forward was most prolific for Luton – scoring 72 goals in 183 games for the Hatters to help them climb to the Championship from League Two.
Following their summer takeover, Derby have already completed the signings of experienced stars Conor Hourihane, James Chester, Tom Barkuizen, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and David McGoldrick.
Joe Wildsmith and Haydon Roberts have also joined the club.
In other news, Football Insider updates as Championship club make move to sign Derby County star Max Bird.