Manchester United defender Teden Mengi has reservations about a second spell at Derby County as he’d rather join a side pushing for promotion in the Championship, according to The Athletic.
Who can blame him, really?
Everything that can go wrong is going wrong for Derby County these days, with just a handful of first-team players at their disposal ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener against Huddersfield Town.
Just to add an element of slapstick to an already cruel joke, influential midfielder James Knight has been ruled out for three months after being injured by none other than manager Wayne Rooney in pre-season training.
How’s that for a punchline?
So it’s fair to suggest Pride Park wouldn’t be the ideal environment for a young player looking to hone his talents, especially with a furious fanbase set to return to the terraces for the first time since March 2020.
Should this season start like the last one ended, the atmosphere may rapidly escalate from tense to toxic.
Mengi impressed on loan at Derby
Teenager Mengi impressed during a brief loan spell at Derby in the second half of last season, helping the Rams dodge the drop on the final day of the season.
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It’s believed Derby had an agreement that would have seen the Manchester-born 19-year-old return for a second spell. However, Mengi is understandably questioning whether a return to a club installed as clear favourites for relegation makes sense.
According to The Athletic, the highly rated centre-back would rather join a club likely to be competing at the other end of the table this season.
“Teden Mengi was excellent in the middle of the three centre-backs,” former Manchester United captain Rooney said in March after a goalless draw with play-off-chasing Barnsley (MEN).
“He’s obviously young but he’s started three games for us now. The three games were tough – but it shows the trust I have in him in dealing with physical strikers.”
Derby are under a transfer embargo but will be allowed to sign players on six-month loan deals, as reported by the Derby Telegraph.
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