While they haven’t been great on the road, they have been almost perfect at home. In five games at Pride Park, they have only lost one, given up three goals, and kept four clean sheets.
Three of those shutouts have been recorded by new signing Jacob Widell Zetterstrom in goal. The Swedish goalkeeper has done a great job since moving to England in August.
He has kept the Rams in games every time, and in just over two months at the club, he has quickly become a fan favorite. This could have been different, though, because Wolverhampton Wanderers were interested in the 26-year-old before Derby paid £1.4 million for him.
In May, Wolves was mentioned with Zetterstrom, but it looks like the Championship team got him before them because Paul Warne made him his top priority.
The Rams had a rough summer trying to get a deal for the 6ft 6in goalie. They finally announced his signing right before their second game of the season, which was against Middlesbrough.
Zetterstrom has quickly gotten used to life at Derby. He may still need to work on some things, like his distribution, but he is already one of the best goalkeepers in the second level and is saving shots very well.
According to an interview with Derbyshire Live, the Swede talked about how much he loves playing at Pride Park and how Warne affected the deal. Wolves fans may be wondering why they didn’t make a move during the window.
Zetterstrom talked about how his new boss immediately appealed to him: “I also had a good feeling right off the bat with the manager.” He was talking about friendships he has already made at the club. When we first met, he was wearing a Djurgarden cap, which I loved. He and Andy Warrington quickly showed what incredible people they are.
“The sports side is so important. but you have to have a good relationship with the people around it as well. I got that from the start. He’s a funny guy, really lights the room up and he works really well with the players. I’m very happy to be here and playing for him.”
While he has had several excellent performances in a Derby shirt, his performance against Millwall was one of his best, and he was a key reason behind the Rams getting their first away point of the season.
The 26-year-old made five saves, stopping the Lions constantly in both the first and second-half at The Den. According to FotMob, Zetterstrom stopped 1.59 goals and was his team’s best player throughout.
He could do little to stop Mihailo Ivanovic his 85th equaliser, as the striker rounded the Swede following an unlucky bounce from a Curtis Nelson pass that deflected off the goalscorer.
Nevertheless, it was yet another showing where Wolves supporters will perhaps watch on and wonder why there was not a bigger effort made to bring Zetterstrom to Molineux, as he grows in confidence game by game.
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