Exclusive: Juventus Confirm Interest in Jake Buxton

Article by e-Derby County Correspondent Ross Lowe

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Juventus manager Antonio Conte today confirmed his keenness in making Derby County defender Jake Buxton his first high-profile capture of the summer.

Buxton’s rise to prominence in the centre of the Rams defence during the last two seasons has caught the attention of the manager of i bianconeri, who confessed that he has followed the hard-working defender’s career since he starred at Burton Albion six years ago.

Said Conte: “Buxton is exactly the type of no-nonsense, never say-die player that we need to galvanise the Juve defence. I have admired him since receiving a tip-off from Simon Clough, brother of manager Nigel, when he was playing at Burton Albion. I sent along a scout to see him play at Torquay United and his potential was evident then. Under McClaren he has flourished and he is clearly ready for Serie A. His beard is pretty ace too.”

Okay. Apologies to the mighty Buckenbauer, but you get my point. Silly season is up and running and the rumour mill is already grinding away. As you’d expect, the gallant losers of the Championship Play-Off Final are already popping up in the gossip columns of the national press as we move away from the 2013-2014 season and enter the brief football-less limbo period before the World Cup.

You have to expect it. Football media logic dictates that, because Derby County lost out in the Play Off Final, their side will now be dismantled as players disappointed not to make the Premiership head off to achieve their dreams elsewhere and the Rams board seek to recoup money spent in the push for the top.

We’re easy targets for such stories and we need to ensure that we have a family-sized salt cellar to hand to take the occasional pinch from whenever we turn to the back pages of the tabloids until August.

In the same week that Jeff Hendrick starred for the Republic of Ireland against Italy at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, it was reported that Watford were ‘interested’ in him. Nothing more. Within minutes, Twitter was alight and Rams fans were either treating the story with derision or chucking themselves off the nearest motorway bridge in despair.

Calm down, folks. With the greatest respect to Watford, I doubt very much that our Jeff will be signing up to ply his trade in Hertfordshire any time soon. If anything, Jeff is much more likely to take up an offer at a Premiership club should they come calling, and his performance against Italy will not have done his prospects any harm.

Some folk will read that last statement and now take it as read that he’s definitely heading away from the iPro. People will also look at the fact that he has a year left to run on his contract and, because it hasn’t been renewed since breakfast this morning, they’ll imagine that Jeff is unhappy and wants away.

Behave yourselves. Rumours will come and go. Remember when we due to sign Michael Owen a couple of seasons back? Or when Jim Smith was due to take Roberto Baggio to Pride Park from AC Milan? However much credence there was in those stories, they were both rumours that didn’t come to fruition.

Derby County players will be linked with moves away, interesting and intriguing names will be linked with moves to the Rams. Twitter users will trot stories out and react to them as if they are gospel, but until Sam Rush gives the nod to Colin Gibson to tell it to the world, or Owen Bradley and Steve Nicholson break the exclusives on Radio Derby and in the Derby Telegraph respectively, it ain’t happening.

What Derby have said though is that they want to improve the strength of the squad and not weaken it. Yep, we’ve all heard that before – but I for one am more inclined to feel reassured by those words this time. I’m perfectly willing to bet that Jeff will be a Rams player come the start of the new season as will the majority of the current first-team squad, and that a couple of good additions will be coming in over the summer months. This is a united and strong team, and the only way any of them will be leaving is if stupid money is offered and the Rams have a good replacement lined up.

It’s fun to speculate in the meantime though, and I’ll be watching Twitter just as keenly as anyone else. Just don’t believe everything that you read.

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