Sam Szmodics Returns to Derby County on Loan with Obligation to Buy

Derby County have brought Sam Szmodics back to Pride Park – and this time, it’s serious.

The forward has rejoined on a season-long loan from Ipswich Town, but the small print tells the real story: Derby carry an obligation to buy the Republic of Ireland international at the end of the 2026-27 campaign. That clause is appearance-based, with the fee understood to be around £2.7m.

It is a calculated move, and a bold one. Derby know exactly what they are buying.

Szmodics made 13 appearances and scored three goals for the Rams last season as John Eustace’s side fell just four points short of the Championship play-offs. In a tight, unforgiving division, his contribution hinted at more to come rather than a finished article. Derby have decided they cannot afford to let that potential walk away.

The relationship between player and manager is central to this gamble. Under Eustace at Blackburn Rovers in 2023-24, Szmodics exploded, finishing as the Championship’s leading scorer with 27 goals. That ruthless season dragged him from reliable forward to headline name and convinced Ipswich to part with £9m in the summer of 2024 as they prepared for their first Premier League campaign in more than 20 years.

The leap to the top flight proved far less kind. Szmodics managed four Premier League goals as Ipswich went straight back down, and his momentum stalled. Last season, he found the net only once in 18 appearances for the Tractor Boys before Derby moved in with a loan deal that has now turned into something far more permanent in intent.

What Derby saw in that short spell was enough. What Eustace remembers from Blackburn is decisive.

“After being here for a couple of months, I knew what the squad and the club were all about – if I had anywhere to come back to, it was always going to be here,” he told the club website.

There is no ambiguity in his ambition either: “Hopefully, we will go one step further than we did last year and get promoted to the Premier League.”

That is the bar Derby are setting. Not consolidation. Not a quiet season. Promotion.

The structure of the deal reflects that urgency. An obligation tied to appearances is a clear signal: if Szmodics plays, Derby will pay. Eustace now has a forward he trusts, one who has already proven he can dominate this division under his guidance. The question is whether that 27-goal version of Szmodics can be revived in Derby white.

While one familiar face returns, another prepares to leave.

Midfielder Liam Thompson is on the verge of a move to Mansfield Town. The 24-year-old, who first broke into the Derby first team in 2021 after six years in the academy system, has just one year left on his contract. His departure would close a long chapter for a homegrown player who climbed every rung of the club’s ladder.

Derby’s summer, then, is taking shape with a clear edge: experience in, academy roots potentially out, and a major bet placed on a striker who once lit up this league. If Szmodics catches fire again, that £2.7m will look like a bargain and the promotion talk will no longer sound like hope, but expectation.