Wed 03 Apr
Time to read: 2mins
Defender pens new deal at Pride Park until the end of the 2015-16 season.
Derby County’s Wales Under-21 international Kieron Freeman has put pen-to-paper on a new three-year contract with the Rams.
The 21-year-old defender, who joined Derby last summer from East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest, has penned fresh terms until the summer of 2016.
Freeman has made 15 appearances in a Rams shirt since arriving at Pride Park Stadium last August and with John Brayford currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, he has been handed the chance to shine in recent weeks.
He has started each of Derby’s last three matches and his solid defensive displays have helped Nigel Clough’s side claim three successive victories in the Championship for the first time this season.
Freeman can perform at either right-back or left-back, as well as in a wide midfield role, and his progress both in the first-team squad and for the Rams’ Under 21 side have prompted Clough to hand the Nottingham-born player a new deal.
Clough said: “Kieron is a player we have an awful lot of faith in and we think he’s going to be a very good player in the future.
“He’s got all the right attributes to be an extremely good defender and he’s got a good opportunity at the moment, with John out injured, to build up his Championship experience.
“We’ve been pleased with his progress over the last few months and he’s not looked out of place when we’ve put him in the first-team.
“He’s had to wait patiently for his chance but his attitude has been excellent from the minute he walked through the door and he’s grasped the opportunity we’ve given him, which is exactly what we’re looking for from our younger players.
“It’s pleasing to once again secure the services of one of our promising young players on a long-term contract and that Kieron sees the direction we’re moving in.”
Freeman came through the youth ranks at the City Ground and made his first-team debut in August 2011, as a second-half substitute in Forest’s League Cup victory over Wycombe Wanderers.
In a bid to gain more first-team experience last season, Freeman enjoyed spells at Mansfield Town and Notts County, where in the process he became the youngest player to have ever played for all three professional Nottinghamshire clubs.
In total he made two first-team appearances for Forest before making the move across Brian Clough Way.
Freeman made his Derby debut as a substitute on 3rd November 2012 at home to Blackpool, before making his first start for the club on New Year’s Day this year as the Rams defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 at Pride Park.
