Derby County manager Nigel Clough has spoken about the deal that allowed the 19 year old striker Callum Ball move to Coventry on a season long loan.
Clough has admitted he did not want to lose the young striker, but when Andy Thorn asked about Ball he realised that it may be the only way in which he could prise the highly rated Richard Keogh from Coventry.
While allowing Ball to move on loan it wasn't part of the deal that took Keogh to Pride Park, but it certainly did help seal the deal.
Clough said, "Coventry asked for Callum and that was a major part of the deal for them. I think that might have been the thing that swung the deal for us when other clubs were coming in with similar offers for Richard Keogh.
"We didn't really want to lose Callum for the season. However, if we take the long term view, it will be a brilliant move for his development. We will certainly miss having him around as an option this season but we felt it was worth it to get the deal done.
"With the strikers we have at the club at the moment, he is probably down the pecking order a little bit, just because of his age and inexperience, but we have got high hopes for Callum in the future."
Ball has been with Derby since he was nine years old and is a product of their Academy. He made 25 appearances for The Rams last season,13 of them starts and 12 as substitute. He scored three goals in this time, one of which ironically was the winning goal over his new club Coventry in January.
Clough revealed that the loan move is just that and it will not lead to a permanent move later on as Derby want to keep Ball and are in discussions about extending his contract.
He said, "We will be sitting down and sorting out a longer contract with Callum, which we would have done prior to him going, if we had had the time, but that will be a priority to get sorted. He has got two years left on his current deal."