We asked a Derby County expert about Jack Marriott, THAT recall clause and a transfer chances for Sheffield Wednesday

The Owls unveiled their new number nine on deadline day to a frisson of excitement in the Wednesday fanbase.

Marriott arrives with a reputation as a red hot goalscorer following a 33-goal season at Peterborough that saw Wednesday and Garry Monk’s Birmingham among the many Championship clubs linked with his name back in 2018.

Derby won the race to sign him, but it hasn’t gone exactly to plan there, Marriott scoring 18 times in 87 appearances for the Rams amid injury problems and changing managers.

He made his debut from the bench in the Owls’ 1-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday, but what should Wednesday fans expect from their new number nine?

We asked The Athletic’s Derby County writer Ryan Conway for the inside scoop on Marriott’s personality, that release clause and whether a deal could go long-term.

What sort of player is Marriott?

If you’re asking Jack to hold play up and defend from the front, I don’t think he’s going to excel at that. That’s not in his game.

If you’re asking him to play off the shoulder and stretch defences, to play in the space behind defences, he’s great at that. He’s got a great turn of pace and is lightning quick over the first five yards.

He’s just recovered from groin surgery, he had that just after Project Restart and Cocu said on Thursday that he was only 10 per cent or so off his absolute maximum, so he’s fully fit for the first time in about 12 months.

It was a groin injury that he’d been suffering with all season, but he’d been taking painkiller injections. That affected his turn of pace, but he looks fit again.

He’s someone that I think need the game tailored to him. He’s not going to be one getting onto the end of big, long balls, he needs precise balls played into him, that he can run onto.

One touch, two touch, finish. That’s the kind of forward that he is. He’s so efficient with his shooting and his touches.

It doesn’t seem to have worked out for Marriott under Cocu. Why?

It was a system thing. Phillipe has tried formations to fit Jack in, but the problem they’ve encountered is that they’ve not changed the principles of playing when he’s played Jack.

You can play any formation all you want, but if you keep playing long balls as if there’s a target man up there, Jack isn’t going to have any joy and that’s exactly what has happened.

Derby haven’t had the personnel around Marriott to get the best out of him. The amount of times you see 30 yard raking passes and he can’t get to them; that’s not his fault, that’s the fault of the system and the management of him. They’ve not been able to tailor their approach to Marriott.

It’s purely the system that means it hasn’t worked out for him.

What did Frank Lampard think of him?

It was a little bit of the system, and then Frank wanted him to be a very dedicated, whole-hearted trainer. I’m not saying he’s not that, but it didn’t seem he was to the level Lampard wanted and he was in and out of the team under Frank.

Under Frank you had to perform at your absolute maximum to get that shirt, maybe lesser players were given opportunities because of that and that was questioned at times of Jack.

What frame of mind will he have arrived in?

He absolutely has a point to prove. He got his move after a brilliant time at Peterborough and the expectations were that once he was settled, once this guy was bedded in, he would get you 20 goals at Championship level. They’re big expectations, but everyone believes it, right down to the player himself.

He’s out to prove that, he’s out to prove he can stay fit and on the field.

The tide was very slowly starting to turn at Derby. Fans were getting slightly frustrated with him in terms of his goal return. His overall goal return has been pretty meagre if we’re honest and the question was being asked ‘Is it ever going to happen?’

He’s got a lot to prove in terms of Cocu, he will definitely want to prove Cocu wrong, his failure to bring him off the bench and not tailor his system around him.

This recall clause. Talk to me..

It feels as though they’re hedging their bets a little, as though they’re looking at it thinking; if he can get 10 goals between now and the start of January and Derby are struggling to find firepower, he’ll be back.

Mel Morris has recently debunked rumours that Cocu is under serious pressure, but if they keep losing, Cocu could lose his job.

If, and right now it is a big ‘if’, but you don’t know what’s going to happen in two months time, if there’s a new manager then maybe that’s why they’ve put a clause in because the new man might want Jack back.

It feels like even Derby don’t know what to do with him anymore – whether they loan him out but they might want him back – they’ve definitely hedged their bets with him.

Can you see Marriott making a permanent move to Wednesday?

If he’s still at Sheffield Wednesday come the start of January, then it’s fair then to start asking the question of whether it could become permanent, but with Derby inserting that clause it does suggest they’ve got one eye on bringing him back if he hits the ground running.

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