Derby County have reportedly been handed a lifeline in their pursuit of Genoa midfielder, Emil Bohinen, who is currently on loan with Serie B outfit, Venezia.
That is according to Spezia-based outlet, Calcio Spezia, with the fellow Serie B side also interested in securing a deal for the Norwegian, who has also been linked with a potential switch to Rangers across the opening days of the winter transfer window.
It is a complicated transfer saga which currently surrounds Bohinen, who, ironically, was born in the East Midlands during his father’s playing days with the Rams back in March 1999.
Derby are currently amongst a clutch of sides who are hoping to push towards the play-off places in the Championship between now and the end of the season, in what is John Eustace’s first full campaign as head coach at Pride Park following his initially controversial switch from divisional rivals, Blackburn Rovers, 11 months ago.
The 46-year-old was able to prevent Derby from suffering an immediate relegation back to League One three months after taking charge in DE24, before the Rams boss, his recruitment team and lifelong supporter-turned owner, David Clowes, set about a summer window of vast transfer activity.In total, Eustace was able to recruit 13 players on a permanent or temporary basis across his first pre-season and transfer window, with the standout piece of business seeing USMNT international forward, Patrick Agyemang, move from Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer.
So far in the current transfer window, which runs until 7PM on February 2nd, the Rams have turned Dion Sanderson’s initial loan switch from Birmingham City into a permanent deal, whilst also seeing long-term target, Oscar Fraulo, move from Bundesliga side, Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The Austrian made his debut for the ‘Black and White army’ in their 3-1 defeat to Leeds United in the FA Cup third round, whilst Eustace continues to see his club linked with further potential acquisitions in the coming weeks.
Having already signed several players with links to his former clubs in the form of Birmingham and Blackburn Rovers, the Derby boss was also linked with a swoop for Sammie Szmodics of Ipswich Town last week.
However, whilst Bohinen has no links to the Rams chief, he certainly has strong links to the city, with the Rams still somewhat involved in theaforementioned transfer saga which began in the lead-up to the window.
Derby County and Rangers FC involved in transfer saga for on-loan Genoa midfielder Emil Bohinen
It was reported by Il Secolo XIX – relayed by Calcio Spezia – on New Year’s Eve that Bohinen was of interest to the Italian second division side, whilst the 26-year-old has also spent the first half of the campaign in the same league on loan with Venezia, who were relegated from Serie A at the end of last season.
At present, the Norwegian’s parent club, Genoa, are in a precarious position ahead of the relegation play-off and automatic relegation zone in the top flight, whilst Bohinen’s own future, be it at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, or elsewhere, is extremely up in the air at this moment in time.
As well as revealing Spezia’s interest in the player, the aforementioned report outlined that Bohinen had emerged as a potential target for Scottish Premiership giants, Rangers, who are undergoing their first transfer window under former Sheffield Wednesday boss, Danny Rohl, amid a recent resurgence, as well as receiving offers from clubs in the Eredivisie.
In a fresh update on Bohinen’s potential whereabouts, which Calcio Spezia state is partly down to “procrastination” on the player’s behalf, it has been claimed that a change in agent saw him receive the opportunity to move to Pride Park in the transfer window, although nothing concrete has materialised despite the somewhat sentimental links.
However, the report suggests that whilst Bohinen could stay with Venezia despite making just eight appearances thus far, Spezia’s stance on the matter could offer the Rams and Light Blues an avenue back into the transfer saga, as they could move on to other targets as they urgently seek for further midfield reinforcements.
Emil Bohinen could be attracted to Derby County amid personal links
course, it remains to be seen what comes from the aforementioned saga. However, if a move was on the table for Bohinen to move to the East Midlands, family ties may turn his head.
As previously mentioned, the former Salernitana and 10-time Norwegian Under-21 international was born in Derby whilst his father, Lars, made 60 appearances for the Rams between March 1998 and January 2001, having also previously featured for their bitter rivals, Nottingham Forest, and Blackburn.However, another dilemma in this saga would be the amount of depth Eustace currently has in midfield, as he recently welcomed back Lewis Travis and David Ozoh after their respective injury layoffs