When Paul Jewell said that Derby County would only go down fighting, no one thought that he meant literally. But, with Robbie Savage, Hossam Ghaly and Laurent Robert following Danny Mills into Pride Park, opponents can expect a battle from the Barclays Premier League’s bottom team in the coming months.

With Blackburn Rovers accepting Derby’s £1.5 million offer for Savage, the 33-year-old had a medical at the club’s Moor Farm training ground yesterday and will be paraded today after signing a 2½ year contract.

Ghaly will meet the Derby manager for talks before his projected move from Tottenham Hotspur , while Robert, a free agent after leaving Levante, the Spanish club, has signed until the end of the season. Mills joined on loan from Manchester City until May last week, when Emanuel Villa arrived from UAG Tecos, the Mexican side, for £2 million. The Argentinian received his international clearance yesterday and may soon be complemented in a new-look attack by the potential record signing of Eddie Johnson, the United States striker, from Major League Soccer.

Jewell was surprised to inherit such a quiet dressing-room when he succeeded Billy Davies six weeks ago and has moved purposefully to bring in bellicose characters. When Robert, the former Newcastle United and Portsmouth winger, was questioned about his reputation yesterday, he said: “There are some players more crazy than me here.”

He was joking but, moments later, as if on cue, Savage popped his head round the door, on his way to conclude negotiations with Jewell. Whether acquiring such a cast of pantomime villains improves Derby’s chances of pulling off the most implausible escape act in Premier League history remains to be seen, but the newcomers should certainly enliven the dressing-room.

Robert and Mills may offer a short-term shot in the arm, but Savage, once he wins over the Derby supporters who remember him less than warmly for his theatrical antics during his time with Leicester City, will be offered the opportunity to become the team’s talisman. “I know there’s a bit of history between Sav and Derby County, but there’s history between Sav and every club he has played against,” Jewell said. “The club lacks a bit of devilment and Sav will bring us that, but he can also play – and he will have a positive effect on the team and the supporters.”

Robert believes that he should be known more as the great entertainer than the great troublemaker and pointed to Newcastle’s record after his arrival for £9.5 million from Paris Saint-Germain in 2001 as a reference point – before the days of his combustible relationship with Graeme Souness. “I had four years with Newcastle, one in the Champions League, the others in the Uefa Cup as we finished in the top five,” the 32-year-old said. “Some people may speak bad about me, but I am no troublemaker. If you speak with Bobby Robson, I never had a problem with him.”

The former France maverick has not played since last May after a fallout between the coach and the chairman at Levante, but, once international clearance is gained, he is expected to go straight into the team to face Wigan Athletic on Saturday after impressing Jewell in training. “The manager knows I am ready to play,” he said. “Football is difficult and if you have free kicks or corners, you have the time to make a chance. If we have someone in the box, the manager knows my quality.”

Villa will hope to be that someone. Having inherited the No 9 shirt after Steve Howard’s £1.5 million move to Leicester City last week, the Argentinian’s style has been compared with that of Alan Shearer. He may still be adapting to life in the Midlands – “it’s raining all the time, it’s dark by 4pm” – but he is accustomed to struggling clubs, with Tecos bottom of the Mexican league. “The team was not doing very well, but I have scored seven goals in 13 games, I’m fit and playing good,” he said. “I like to play in the box, to receive crosses, to head and to score goals.”

A deal for Johnson could smash the MLS transfer record after Clint Dempsey, the midfield player, cost Fulham £4 million in December 2006 when he was signed from New England Revolution.

Derby had shown an interest in Johnson last summer, but Kansas City Wizards, his club, resisted losing their leading scorer, who had been on trial with Reading a year ago. Peter Vermes, the Wizards director of football, has now cleared the path for Johnson, who scored 16 goals in 24 games in the recently concluded MLS season, to join the Premier League.

“I don’t think we are naive enough not to know we would reach this point,” Vermes said. “A number of clubs from England and Europe have expressed an interest and bottom line is the pound is a lot stronger than the dollar or anything else. That does not mean we will necessarily part with him. The deal has to work for both sides.”

Desperation stakes

January represents the last-chance saloon for Barclays Premier League clubs seeking to beat the drop or make a surge for Europe. How often does it work?

Hit

Christophe Dugarry Inspirational in saving Birmingham City from relegation in 2003 after Steve Bruce signed the mercurial France forward on loan from Bordeaux, in addition to Matthew Upson, Stephen Clemence and Jamie Clapham.

Kieran Richardson For so long injured, apathetic or in love with life at Old Trafford, came and got stuck in for Bryan Robson in 2005, playing in central midfield and, with Kevin Campbell, leading West Bromwich Albion to their great escape.

Harry Redknapp Pulled Portsmouth from the precipice in 2006 after they looked over the edge. Pedro Mendes, Sean Davis and Noé Pamarot, from Tottenham Hotspur’s reserves, and Dean Kiely, Benjani Mwaruwari and Andres D’Alessandro did the business - but only after losing seven of their first eight games together.

Or bust

Robbie Fowler signed for Manchester City from Leeds United for £6 million on the penultimate day of the 2003 transfer window and struggled until missing the last-ditch penalty that allowed Middlesbrough to nick a Uefa Cup place.

Alberto Luque, Joined Newcastle United for £9.5 million in late August 2005, did nothing for two years and departed for Ajax last summer. A Graeme Souness special to ride alongside the £8 million purchase of Jean-Alain Boumsong from Rangers in January 2005.

Eric Djemba-Djemba David O’Leary’s access to Aston Villa’s transfer funds started dipping noticeably after this £1.35 million transfer-deadline acquisition from Manchester United in January 2005. Words by Peter Lansley