John Eustace is Derby County's prime target to become the club's next manager, as Derbyshire Live understands a formal approach made to Championship competitors Blackburn Rovers.

The Rams are locked in a relegation scrap and thus in dire need of inspiration. A point away at Norwich City on Saturday was the first step, the next is appointing a new coach with proven capabilities to take a team to the next level. In steps Eustace, who has turned Rovers from last season in a similar position to which Derby find themselves now, to 2024/25 play-off contenders.

"I have just come off the pitch and realised they have made an official approach. I am sure Steve (Waggott, CEO) and Suhail (Pasha, chief operating officer) will want to sit down and talk to me. I'd be disappointed if they didn't," the man in question said after his current team were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.

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"I think if a club makes an official approach, my first conversation has to be with our owners to find out what the situation is. Then we can take it from there. It is about reassurance too."

Also unsurprised by this unfolding tale, Eustace - a Rams midfielder during his playing days - seemingly has a huge decision to make in the coming days, if not hours. Derby are back in action on Tuesday night against Oxford United while Blackburn travel to West Bromwich Albion - a match the 45-year-old from Birmingham said he expected to take charge of, as was the lie of the land on Sunday.

So, our Derbyshire Live writers give their verdict on what Eustace and Derby County's decision should be:

Leigh Curtis

There seems to have been a lot of amazement, particularly on social media, as to why John Eustace would want to swap a top-six challenge with Blackburn Rovers for a relegation battle with Derby County, but I don't understand why people are that shocked.

Something isn't quite right at Ewood Park, and their January transfer window was not particularly inspiring, considering they are chasing promotion to the Premier League.

I suspect Eustace would have wanted more backing and with his family still based in the Midlands, I am not at all surprised he would consider moving to manage Derby given he would be closer to home and we often underestimate just how important family is when these scenarios occur.

Derby is also a far bigger club in terms of potential, but from a footballing perspective, he would be in for a hell of a challenge with the club currently in the bottom three of the Championship.

But he did guide Blackburn to safety in his first season so he would be fully prepared for it and knows what it takes to survive. It would be a terrific capture as far as the club is concerned and his first task would be trying to get this team firing in the attacking third which has been a problem in the last few weeks.

Richard Cusack

My colleague Brian Dick, who covered Birmingham City during Eustace's time with the club, made a very good point about him: He has managed up. He's taken over two teams in the EFL now and they have both done much better on his watch.

His results speak for themselves. Blues were doing very well when he was sacked in favour of Wayne Rooney and what he has managed to do at Blackburn really is quite remarkable when you consider they had to sell their star player, Sammie Szmodics, in the summer transfer window. Derby were handed a reality check when they played Eustace's Blackburn on the opening day of the season, being swept aside 4-2 at Ewood Park, and witnessed first-hand what his teams can do to their rivals and David Clowes will have seen that too.

As for the surprise at Eustance considering a move from a top-six club to one mired in relegation trouble, there is his personal situation to consider given he lives in the Midlands as well as the fact that Blackburn have eight players out of contract in the summer and five in on loan, meaning one big rebuilding job is in store for the club come the end of the season.

So it's a yes to Eustace from me, and it would be great to see him back at Pride Park after he ended his career with the Rams in 2015. I still remain convinced to this day that if he hadn't got injured against Ipswich, Derby would have gone up that season.

Keith Wales

Someone is clearly doing their research at Derby County. That is the only way to explain the decision to try to replace the sacked Paul Warne with Blackburn boss John Eustace.

The Rams old boy - he played 57 games for the club in two spells - is currently in charge of a top-six side, so why would he be tempted by the relegation threatened Rams, especially as the Blackburn job is his first since being unceremoniously sacked by Birmingham City to make way for Wayne Rooney (and yes, we all know how that ended).

You would think stability was the order of the day for Eustace, clearly an ambitious manager but one who could do with an extended period working at one club. However, there is clearly a disconnect between manager and the club hierarchy at Ewood Park, one that Derby owner David Clowes is keen to exploit. And the Rams have kept the pressure up by meeting Eustace’s release clause, rumoured to be between £500,000 and £750,000.

Talk of his family being closer to Pride Park than Lancashire is a factor Eustace will have considered, but the thought of working for a club - and an owner - committed to backing their manager will be what is driving his thoughts right now, plus the fact that the Rams are a far bigger club than Rovers will ever be. For that reason, it is surely a matter of when, not if, Eustace takes over at Pride Park.

James Quinlan

Kidderminster, Birmingham, Blackburn - everywhere Eustace has gone his touch has turned that team into gold. That makes Derby's decision a no-brainer, really.

From a footballing perspective I don't really see why he would trade jobs, however. We're more than midway into the season and he has a real chance of making the Premier League with Blackburn. Whether he does or not, top-flight teams should be looking at him, let alone those scrapping for Championship survival.

But we know that it isn't so simple and they are not the only factors at play. If Eustace wants to be closer to his family and desires backing from his employers, this will be a great example of capitalisation on the Rams' part. They have every right to make him the top target.

Even if they miss out, the alternative should be to appoint a firefighter-type manager to secure safety for 2024/25, then go again for Eustace in the summer. That could all go to plan, so long as he hasn't taken Rovers up a division by then.

Amie Wilson

From the outside looking in there will probably be a surprise that Eustace may be interested in taking the vacant role at Derby. After all, he is currently sitting in the play-off places with Blackburn, with Derby fighting for Championship survival in 22nd place in the league.

But despite their position it doesn’t seem that everything is right at Ewood Park. The approach in January seemed to have eyes on the short term with three loan players and two players on short-term contracts coming in.

Moving to Derby could provide Eustace with a more long-term plan which could appeal to the manager. It also gives him chance to move back closer to home to the midlands which may be a big consideration.

For Derby, it feels like Eustace would be a brilliant appointment. The manager took over at a struggling Blackburn at a similar time last year, and led them to safety with a final day win over Leicester City - he now has them challenging for promotion.

He was also successful with Birmingham City before he was inexplicably replaced by Wayne Rooney.

If he can do a similar job at Derby, then it’ll be good news for David Clowes and everyone associated with the club.