John Eustace will take charge of his first game in the Derby County dug-out at Pride Park this coming weekend after a shock move from Blackburn Rovers.
The new Rams boss already knows he has work cut out for him, considering Derby haven’t won in the unforgiving Championship since Boxing Day, with a grim 4-0 away defeat to Queens Park Rangers also his debut clash.
To pick up his first win, Eustace will have to hope some of Derby’s key personnel get back to their best, with a number of the standout men from the lowly side’s League One promotion story putting in some underwhelming displays in the division above.
Derby’s key underperformers this season
With just two points collected from their last five Championship outings, something is going to have to desperately change for the sour mood in Derbyshire to be lifted and for survival to be achieved.
Whilst Eustace could rip up what came before him in Paul Warne, the former Rovers man will know there is talent already in the Derby ranks regardless of Warne’s dismissal, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing one face that could be boosted by his surprise arrival.
The now out-of-sorts attacker would fire home a blistering ten strikes last season to help his side triumphantly move back up to the Championship, on top of also registering a very impressive haul of 18 assists.
This campaign, however, the ex-Cardiff City winger is only on two goals and four assists in all competitions, with Eustace wanting more from his experienced head to push the Rams away from their relegation misery.
Mendez-Laing’s midfield teammate, Ebou Adams has, however, taken to the step up swimmingly, with the no-nonsense battler averaging a stunning 8.1 duels won per Championship contest, despite his side fighting for their lives.
He also has four goals next to his name as one of the more promising performers in the Rams camp, but there is one former midfield face who is outperforming both the 32-year-old and the 29-year-old and who might have departed Pride Park a little prematurely.
The former Derby star who’s shining elsewhere
For all the Eiran Cashins and Max Birds of the world, other emerging talents rising up the ranks at Derby have unfortunately fallen to the wayside when their moment in the senior spotlight has come.
That is arguably the case with Isaac Hutchinson, with the promising midfielder only going on to make four first-team appearances for the Rams, before being allowed to move to Walsall on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.
The 24-year-old has since gone on to become a hit in the lower reaches of the EFL, first off with Walsall where a stellar 23 goals and 19 assists would come his way from 106 games, leading to Saddlers boss Matt Sadler praising Hutchinson’s “relentless” energy from the middle of the park.
His standout time at the Bescot Stadium then saw him rewarded with a move up a division to Bristol Rovers, which is where Hutchinson continues to shine, despite only starting 15 of his side’s 22 League One games this campaign so far.
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Hutchinson’s G/A record by season since leaving Derby |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games played |
Goals scored |
Assists |
|
24/25 |
28 |
6 |
3 |
|
23/24 |
53 |
15 |
12 |
|
22/23 |
53 |
8 |
7 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
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In all competitions this season, Hutchinson has managed to pick up six goals and three assists for the Gas, with the 24-year-old lining up all across the pitch wherever his team need him to be as a winger, a number ten or as a defensive anchor.
Hailed as having a “first class” attitude by one Rovers fan pundit, those goals and assists mean he is outperforming both Mendez-Laing and Adams, with Eustace perhaps utilising him if he was still situated at Pride Park.
Instead, the new Rams boss will have to make do with what he has, with Derby potentially dropping down to Hutchinson’s level if survival isn’t met.
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