Gary Rowett has expressed his delight at securing the signature of experienced defender Curtis Davies.
The 32-year-old put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal with Derby, with the option of a further year, after an undisclosed fee was agreed with Hull City for his services.
The centre-back, who has racked up over 460 appearances in club football in his career to date, is Rowett’s first signing since his appointment as manager back in March.
The Rams boss believes he ‘couldn’t find a better option’ than Davies when it came to adding a centre-back to his squad and is convinced that he has plenty of qualities which will benefit the Rams.
As well as being renowned for being a solid defender, Rowett feels Davies’ leadership qualities and characteristics are exactly what he wants in the culture he is aiming to build.
He has also been impressed by the defender’s desire to reach the top flight once again, having played the vast majority of his football in the Premier League in recent years.
Rowett told RamsTV: “We’ve looked at lots of different players and lots of different options but ultimately, I couldn’t find a better option than Curtis Davies.
“It all made so much sense to me in terms of the deal, his experience and his desire to want to come to the club.
“People will see his age at 32 and think that it is a last pay-day but it’s not that at all, he wants to come and get promotion again and that’s something that he’s done before; he knows what it takes.
“He is still an incredibly good defender who is very mobile, very aggressive and, of course, experienced in that position.”
He added: “I think it’s a very solid first signing and he adds some of the characteristics that we want to see in our squad next year.
“Curtis is a proven leader, particularly at this level, but he has also played a lot in the Premier League which is where we want to get to.
“He knows what it takes to get out of this division. He is a leader, a talker and an organiser but the big thing for me is that he is a really good character. He is a good guy and comes highly recommended by people who have worked with him.
“In terms of his presence around the group and in terms of the way that he tries to help players, I think those characteristics are the things that we want for the culture that we are trying to build.”
Rowett, a former defender himself who also played in the top flight in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is of the belief that defending is something of a dying art in the current game.
However, he views Davies as something of a throwback and a player that enjoys that particular side of the game.
He said: “I’ve seen a lot of Curtis over the years and the bit that I like is that he strikes me as someone who wants to defend and he enjoys defending.
“It is a bit of a dying art but he wants to go and stick his head in where it hurts.
“We are pleased with what we have got in the building but it is all about adding to the group and I think Curtis is a fantastic addition to that.”
