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Andre Wisdom will soon be a Derby County player subject to a medical and completion of paperwork. This has been expected after a £4.5 million deal was agreed on Tuesday for the 24-year-old defender once the Championship club made an offer that Liverpool deemed satisfactory.
Wisdom had spent last season on loan at Red Bull Salzburg and made 22 appearances for the Austrian outfit. 15 of those appearances were in the Austrian Bundesliga as Salzburg won a fourth straight league title to continue dominating the division. It is a path that more young English players should take permanently or on loan to develop as footballers when opportunities are in short supply back home.
The Rams confirmed that Wisdom will tie a deal up later this month after he returns from his holiday, but this is a coup for Gary Rowett as he seeks to push on from 9th to challenge for promotion in his first full season in 2017/18. Wisdom’s 22 senior appearances for Liverpool, experience in Austria for a title-winning side, and understanding of the Championship after a loan stint at Derby back in 2013/14 make him well-equipped to contribute next season.
Wisdom will be part of a raft of sales as Merseyside’s finest seek to increase funds to bring in top quality players in what is essentially Jürgen Klopp’s second active transfer window as Liverpool manager.