Derby County fans will be reasonably happy with their start to this season after winning promotion to the Championship, with Paul Warne’s Rams currently sitting in an unspectacular 14th spot in the early league standings.
Supporters at Pride Park will want their side to kick on slightly, however, with some bumps in form potentially resulting in Derby looking over their shoulder at the bottom three spots in the division, as the Rams are only three points above the dreaded final three positions.
There are many positives to latch onto from a Derby perspective, however, with a number of the fresh signings that entered the building this summer shining bright for their newly promoted side.
The best summer signings at Derby
The best place to start with new signings is Kayden Jackson, who has already proved himself to be a shrewd free transfer after his Ipswich Town contract had expired.
The 30-year-old attacker has amassed three goals and two assists from 15 games donning his new white and black colours, which included a fortunate breakaway strike working in his favour against Middlesbrough.
Other fresh faces away from Jackson have also impressed for Warne’s men in the form of Kenzo Goudmijn and Ben Osborn, with the former AZ Alkmaar man in particular standing out with two goals notched up in the league since leaving the Netherlands behind.
There has also been much change in the goalkeeping positions in Derbyshire, with Swedish shot-stopper Jacob Wedell Zetterstrom settling into life well in England already, with the 28-year-old picking up three clean sheets since making the move from Scandinavia.
Warne will just be relieved that those named are on the books of the Championship club permanently, having been stung in the past with loanees going on to far loftier heights after they’ve walked away.
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Harry Wilson's time at Derby
The Welshman had an explosive loan stint with Derby before going on to become a top performer in the Premier League with Fulham, with Harry Wilson bouncing off the likes of Mason Mount well at Pride Park under the managerial stewardship of Frank Lampard.
The Wrexham-born winger would help himself to a sublime 18 goals and six assists from 49 appearances during the 2018/19 campaign, as Derby narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League during his one and only season at the club, losing to Aston Villa in the 2019 Championship playoff final.
Described as “incredible” by Jurgen Klopp when the pair were at Liverpool together, the attacking midfielder became a real fan favourite at Derby with rockets like the goal above living long in the memory.
He has since gone on to become a tricky attacker for the Cottagers under Marco Silva, with two late strikes from Wilson on Monday evening versus Brentford enabling Fulham to overcome the Bees 2-1.
24/25
8
2
0
23/24
43
5
9
22/23
33
3
4
21/22
43
11
21
His continued excellence at Craven Cottage – which can be seen with his glowing numbers for Fulham over the past couple of seasons – has seen his transfer value rise all the way up to £14m according to Transfermarkt, which is a hefty rise when you look at his value when he was still at Derby.
In February 2019, right in the midst of his formative spell with the Rams, Wilson was worth just £7m. That means his value has shot up 50% since his exit from Pride Park, as the 27-year-old continues to dazzle Premier League defences.
Whilst he attempts to pick up more goals in the top flight, Derby will want to just ensure they stay afloat in the division below come the end of the tiring 46-game season.
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