Everton pair James Tarkowski and Asmir Begovic have both sent message to a former teammate after he sealed a move to a new Championship club.
For the Toffees, their rapid upturn in form since the return of David Moyes to the club means they no longer have to fear the prospect of the relegation from the Premier League.
In the Championship though, the fight for survival continues for many teams, one of which is Derby County.
Since John Eustace left Blackburn Rovers to take charge of Derby back in February, the Rams have been given fresh hope they can avoid an immediate relegation back to League One.
Now the club have done some more business in an attempt to help themselves get out of trouble.
Erik Pieters seals Derby County move
Although the transfer window closed at the start of February, the Rams have still bolstered their squad through the free agent market.
Derby have already signed Kemar Roofe following his exit from Rangers, and have now brought another veteran into their squad for the final eight games of the season.
On Friday (28 March), it was announced that Erik Pieters has completed a move to the Pride Park club, joining on a short-term deal until the summer.
The 36-year-old had been without a club after leaving another side fighting to avoid relegation from the Championship, Luton Town, back in January without making an appearance during a brief spell there.
After completing his move to Derby, Pieters took to Instagram to speak out on his next challenge, prompting a response from two Everton players he knows well.
Begovic, who shared a dressing with the left-back for several years at Stoke City, left a comment on the post which translates to “good luck brother”.
Meanwhile, Tarkowski, who previously played with Pieters at Burnley, was among those to like the post as he too showed his support for a former teammate.
Everton can enjoy their end to the season
It is a tough challenge that Pieters is walking into at Derby, with the pressure firmly on in the fight to avoid the drop out of the Championship.
By contrast, with Everton now 17 points clear of the relegation zone with nine games of the season remaining, they look to be out of trouble.
So after the nerves they have felt in recent seasons, it will be nice for those connected with the club not to have to worry about relegation in the run-in this time around.
Instead Everton can focus on a strong end to the season that will put them in a positive position to make some big moves in the transfer window over the course of the summer.
