Derby County have confirmed the signing of experienced Scottish goalkeeper David Marshall from Wigan Athletic. The Rams have signed the 35-year-old on a two-year deal, subject to clearance by the EFL.
Derby County Complete Signing of David Marshall
Marshall Leaves Cash-Strapped Wigan for Derby County
Scotland international Marshall leaves Wigan Athletic following their relegation to League One. The Lancashire side went into administration before being handed a 12-point deduction that saw them narrowly relegated.
With the club needing to offload players, the shot stopper’s departure was expected.
Earlier this month, he told BBC Scotland that he would “love” to join a top-half Championship side, adding: “The administrators will now have to make big decisions. They were keen to stress that players would have to go simply for the benefit of the club.”
“I would love to get to the stage again where you’re competing at the top of the Championship. I had that for so long in my career in England,” Marshall admitted.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu reacted to the signing by saying: “David is an experienced goalkeeper and he has played at the highest level in both England and Scotland.
“He has also performed at international level for Scotland and I believe that David will be a positive addition to not only our goalkeeping department but also our squad,” he told the club website.
Sixth Club for Scottish International Marshall
The Rams are Marshall’s sixth club in an 18-year career that began with Scottish giants Celtic. During his time in Glasgow, he won the Scottish Premiership and also played against a Barcelona side featuring Derby boss Phillip Cocu at the Camp Nou.
A two-year stint at Norwich City followed in 2007 before he enjoyed his most successful spell at Cardiff City. Marshall made 264 appearances over a seven-year period, winning promotion to the Premier League in 2014 too.
He moved to Hull City in 2016 and spent three years there before joining the Latics last summer.
Derby Sign Experienced Championship Keeper
Last season, the keeper racked up 15 clean sheets in 39 appearances – the joint-second highest in the league.
Over the course of the season, the Scotsman made 86 saves whilst conceding 48 goals. Compared to Derby’s two keepers last season, Ben Hamer and Kelle Roos, Marshall let in fewer goals per game.
Roos and Hamer averaged 1.42 and 1.37 goals per game respectively, however, Marshall conceded only 1.23 goals per 90 minutes.
He played a vital role for Wigan as they fought, ultimately in vain, to avoid the drop, making 10 clean sheets in his last 13 games for the Latics.
With Derby having to be financially cautious, this move could be considered very shrewd by the club. Marshall’s experience will be invaluable and should enable the likes of promising youngster Henrich Ravas to develop, either at Pride Park or out on loan.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’RLL-oC3UQlhD2AMAZsi0_A’,sig:’7usMMVaB_aSKAUEnJ9Lx1p9kdxYXc_2vLynp1Vzg49E=’,w:’594px’,h:’370px’,items:’1223325227′,caption: true ,tld:’co.uk’,is360: false })});
