Derby County will be relatively pleased with how their season is going in the Championship so far, with Paul Warne’s Rams currently sitting in a satisfactory 12th place in the league.
They are faring much better with the step-up to the second tier than the likes of Portsmouth, who actually won League One last campaign, but find themselves rooted to the bottom of the division.
Unlike Derby teams of the past that have depended on some up-and-coming homegrown talents to come good through their esteemed academy, this current eleven put together by Warne has a number of experienced EFL heads in it.
Still, there will be immense pride in the Rams camp at the moment with how far Eiran Cashin has pushed on in the senior ranks, as the 22-year-old stars in the Championship now with his boyhood club.
Notable recent Derby youth products
Of course, Cashin will steal the limelight in this regard, considering the Rams number six has stuck by the club away from being tempted to leave for pastures new.
The 22-year-old has now amassed 134 appearances in the senior mix at Pride Park, with his importance not waning in the second tier whatsoever, with the young centre-back only missing one game so far in the league owing to injury.
Away from the Nottinghamshire-born defender remaining loyal to the second-tier outfit, other recent academy talents that went on to make a name for themselves at Derby have also departed for new challenges.
Faces such as Will Hughes, Max Bird and Jason Knight have all gone on to be success stories elsewhere, with the first of that midfield trio still performing in the Premier League for Crystal Palace even at the age of 29, whilst Bird and Knight are teammates together at Bristol City.
Not every player that rises up the ranks develops into an unbelievable ace, however, with this striker now forgotten about when it comes to conversations regarding some of the notable names that have graduated from the Rams academy.
The Derby youngster who nearly emulated Salah & Giroud
Before his Derby career fell to the wayside, Mason Bennett was tipped for big things at Pride Park, having been the youngest ever player to line up for his hometown club in 2011 at just 15 years of age.
Once scouted by Premier League giants in the form of Manchester City and Liverpool, Bennett is also fondly remembered by those in Derbyshire for a ridiculous scorpion kick style effort he managed versus Wigan Athletic in 2019, with some even stating at the time that it could be a Puskas Award contender.
Away from this unbelievable effort, which nearly saw him emulate the heroics of Mohamed Salah and Oliver Giroud in being up for that prestigious award, Bennett would never prove himself to be a reliable goalscorer for the men’s team, which would result in his exit from the club under Philip Cocu just a year on from this audacious strike versus the Latics.
The 5 foot 11 forward – who made the permanent move to Millwall in August 2020 – would only manage to score five more goals for the Rams away from this memorable effort looping over the Wigan goalkeeper, finishing his time at the club with a lacklustre goal return of six from 89 clashes.
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Derby
89
6
Chesterfield
6
0
Bradford City
13
1
Notts County
2
1
Millwall
103
10
Burton Albion
66
6
Sourced by Transfermarkt
To further add insult to injury, that much-talked-about goal wouldn’t even be nominated, with Bennett also struggling away from Derby to find his goalscoring mojo as can be seen looking at the table above.
Now on the books of Burton, who are fighting against relegation in League One, it’s fair to say the 28-year-old never lived up to his immense hype as a wonderkid.
Derby will hope they can unearth more homegrown gems soon, away from failed examples such as Bennett, but will know experience is going to be key in fending off the Championship relegation zone across this gruelling campaign.
"Excellent" Derby ace to miss six months after "heartbreaking" update
He came off injured against Millwall…
ByTom CunninghamOct 23, 2024