Derby County could boast a line-up featuring stars now with Manchester United, Liverpool and Wrexham if the Rams had kept some of their former academy players at Pride Park.
Wayne Rooney often had to rely on experienced professionals in his efforts to keep Derby in the Championship this season. No team fielded across the 1,104 second-tier fixtures had a higher average age than the 30.3-year-old XI Rooney used against Barnsley in November.
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The Rams ended the regular season having used four of the 10 oldest average age line-ups over the division. Barnsley, in contrast, joined Derby in suffering relegation to League One after using 38 of the 50 squads with the youngest average, including the youngest at 22.4.
Derby only featured once in the top 50 for youngest sides with the 49th at 24-years-old at home to Millwall on February 23. Rooney hosted the Lions with seven players aged 21 or younger starting, including six talents developed in the Pride Park outfit’s academy ranks.
Festy Ebosele was one Derby youngster Rooney started against Millwall but he will now be a former academy player. Udinese have already signed Ebosele to a five-year contract. The 19-year-old agreed terms with the Serie A side in March with his Rams deal ending in July.
The Republic of Ireland U21 international moved to Derbyshire to further his development in 2018 and has since played in 41 first-team games. So, what other former academy players could Derby use in a possible XI of Rams youngsters no longer playing at Pride Park?
GK: Former Derby youngster Lee Grant now at Manchester United
Lee Grant began his career as a youngster at Derby before enjoying a senior breakthrough in September 2002 against Burnley. John Gregory handed a then-19-year-old his first-team bow in a second-tier fixture at Pride Park, marking the first of his 186 games for the Rams.
The goalkeeper has never featured more for a single club in his career than the 39-year-old achieved with Derby. His career has included stints at Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Stoke and Manchester United since leaving the Rams in 2007. Grant did return from 2013 to ‘17.
RB: Former Derby youngster Jayden Bogle now at Sheffield United
Jayden Bogle is now striving to establish a career for himself with Sheffield United after the former Derby youngster left Pride Park for Bramall Lane in 2020. The right-back had joined the Rams from Swindon Town’s youth fold in 2016 and broke through for 90 senior games.
The 21-year-old has so far amassed 43 appearances for the Blades after proving to be their first-choice this term. But his season ended in February after 18 Championship matches for three goals and an assist following knee surgery. He had lost 2-0 away at Derby in January.
CB: Miles Addison now playing Step 3 National League football with Stratford Town
Miles Addison joined Derby in his youth, but he is now plying his trade with Step 3 National League side Stratford Town. The centre-half enjoyed his most successful period as a senior player while at Pride Park, too, with the 33-year-old playing 77 fixtures in all competitions.
His Rams record is more than double the defender’s next-best haul of 36 made while with Bournemouth between 2012 and 2015. Addison joined the Cherries after the former Derby youngster left Pride Park, having spent the prior three months on the south coast on loan.
CB: Former Derby youngster Farrend Rawson now at Mansfield in League Two
Former Derby youngster Farrend Rawson now finds himself on the fringes of the Mansfield Town line-up. The centre-half joined the Stags from Forest Green Rovers in 2020 after two-and-a-half years, having left Pride Park for The New Lawn Stadium in the summer of 2018.
Rawson had been in the Rams’ development side for numerous years before he moved to Gloucestershire. Yet despite being a regular at U23s level, the defender never made a first-team appearance for Derby. He only featured on the bench for eight senior matches in all.
LB: Former Derby youngster Max Lowe now on loan at Nottingham Forest
Max Lowe left Derby for Sheffield United in September 2020 as part of a double deal with Bogle worth £15m. He had enjoyed a lengthy career in the Pride Park academy before the left-back made 48 first-team appearances, with 29 in the 2019/20 Championship season.
The 24-year-old only played 11 matches for the Blades last term, however, before joining Nottingham Forest on loan in August. Lowe would then find himself as the first-choice at the City Ground. But he has spent two lengthy periods out with groin injuries this season.
RM: Former Derby youngster Kaide Gordon now forging Liverpool career
Rooney handed Kaide Gordon his senior Derby bow before the midfielder joined Liverpool in January 2021. The Reds paid £1.5m to secure the 17-year-old’s services, and have now also paid the Rams a further £500k to remove a 20% sell-on clause, per the Liverpool Echo.
Gordon is yet to break into the Anfield first-team, but has made more appearances under Jurgen Klopp than Rooney already. Klopp has also hailed Gordon as an ‘exceptional talent’, while FourFourTwo have ranked the England U18 gem as the 28th most-exciting teenager.
CM: Will Hughes now at Crystal Palace after Pride Park spell
Crystal Palace paid Watford £6m, worth up to £10m after add-ons, to sign former Derby youngster Will Hughes last summer. The midfielder had spent the previous four years at Vicarage Road after leaving Pride Park following a five-year senior career with the Rams.
Hughes broke through for his senior bow with Derby in 2011 and enjoyed 187 outings at Pride Park in all competitions. He also scored 12 goals and laid on 18 assists, before hitting eight goals and 10 assists for Watford. His Eagles career is yet to feature the same impact.
CM: Tom Huddlestone set for Hull City exit after Derby youngster’s return
Tom Huddlestone spent two spells with Derby after the former Rams youngster returned to Pride Park between 2017 and 2020. The midfielder had started his career for the club’s academy side before he joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2005 in a deal worth up to £2.5m.
He stayed in north London until 2013 and joining Hull City, whom he left to re-join Derby in 2017 for £2m. Huddlestone made 185 appearances over his two spells at Pride Park before re-joining Hull in 2021 after a year as a free agent. But he will leave the Tigers this year.
LM: Former Derby academy talent Charles Vernam now with Bradford
Former Derby youngster Charles Vernam is now on his third club since leaving Pride Park in 2018. The left-winger left the Rams for Grimsby Town after six years at the club, but lasted just two years at Blundell Park. He then joined Burton Albion, yet lasted less than a season.
Burton allowed Vernam to join Bradford on deadline day in February 2021, where he made a creative impact this term. The 25-year-old – who managed just one senior game with Derby for two minutes – hit eight goals and four assists over 28 League Two outings this season.
ST: Liam Delap chasing Manchester City first-team after Rams development
Liam Delap left Derby after a decade in the Rams’ academy to join Manchester City in 2019 at 16-years-old. The forward has enjoyed a prolific youth record with the Citizens, hitting goals galore at U23s level. He is yet to carry his form into the senior fold in his rare games.
Pep Guardiola has afforded the 19-year-old fleeting chances since the start of the 2020/21 campaign. But over the six games across all competitions the former Derby youngster has enjoyed, Delap has one goal. His effort came in an EFL Cup tie with Bournemouth in 2020.
ST: Kwame Thomas now part of Wrexham side heading into the Football League
Kwame Thomas enjoyed a brief senior career with Derby after breaking through from their academy for his debut in 2014. But the striker only managed to play 72 minutes across his five appearances without scoring before joining Coventry City in 2016 after two loan spells.
His time at Coventry ran to 2018 and joining Solihull Moors in a permanent transfer after a loan move there. Yet Solihull released Thomas in 2019, prior to spells at Doncaster Rovers and Burton Albion up to joining Wrexham in 2020. But his current season has been tough.
Wrexham have secured promotion into the Football League this term, but have rarely had Thomas available. The 26-year-old ruptured his left Achilles in training last Easter and only managed six appearances between returning in December and another injury in February.
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