•  Derby County has rejected four bids from Brighton for defender Eiran Cashin this year, with the club standing strong over bids for their player.
•  Brighton remains interested in signing Cashin before the transfer deadline, but Derby will only consider bids above £3 million.
•  Cashin would be a good signing for Brighton, as they have a history of developing young players and selling them for huge profits.

Derby County’s lacklustre start to the season could be about to get worse – as Brighton look to sign exciting talent Eiran Cashin.

A loss to bottom side Wigan on the opening day gave fans a real glimpse as to what this season could hold in store for the Rams, and an early exit to Blackpool in the EFL Cup did no wonders for morale.

A first win of the season over Burton last weekend finally gave Paul Warne’s men lift-off in the league – though a 2-1 loss to Oxford United on Tuesday was disappointing, leaving the side 14th in the division and already six points away from automatic promotion.

But, despite their struggles, the club are standing strong over bids for their players according to John Percy – who suggests that the Rams have rejected four bids from Brighton and Hove Albion for their star man Eiran Cashin this year.

What does the report state?

The report states that Brighton have seen at least four bids turned down from Derby chiefs this calendar year for the 21-year-old defender. Some of those were seemingly knocked back in the winter window, as per Percy’s report – as he states that only some of these bids were made this summer.

The Seagulls remain interested in securing the services of the youngster before the transfer deadline at the start of September – though Derby reportedly will only consider bids north of £3million.

Furthermore, Derby are insistent that any deal would mean that Cashin returns to the East Midlands on a loan deal until the end of the season. And, given that Brighton have Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Igor Julio and Jan Paul van Hecke ahead of Cashin in the pecking order, that seems the best deal available for all parties.

Would Eiran Cashin be a good signing for Brighton?

We all know Brighton’s transfer strategy now – a system that allows them to sign young players for relative peanuts, develop them in the Premier League and sell them for huge profits once they impress in an attractive, attacking environment.

The likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo were signed for a combined £31million (minus Caicedo’s sell-on fee of £23million), and sold for an outstanding £188m in total.

It’s an incredible conveyor belt in place, and with the likes of Bart Verbruggen, Joao Pedro, Julio Enciso, Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson at the club at present, there is no better environment for the likes of Cashin to learn in – especially with Ferguson playing alongside him at international level.

Being an understudy to defenders Dunk and Joel Veltman, the 21-year-old – who already has 74 appearances for the Rams in all competitions – would vastly improve with the potential to exceed at the AMEX Stadium, and the prospect of further European football to play in next season in any case would be a tantalising project for the Mansfield-born centre-back.

What would happen at Derby County if Cashin left?

With the deal, at least Derby’s insistence on a year back in the Midlands gives them a year to sort a replacement for Cashin once he departs.

Sonny Bradley and Curtis Nelson would see him right for the season, before Brighton’s elite squad would further that development – and over £3million at third-tier level is an outstanding fee, enough to rank Cashin in the top 20 third-tier transfer sales ever.