3/1 To Win
Darren Wassall firmly believes the 2016/17 season was a clear indicator that the Derby County Academy conveyor belt is well and truly alive and kicking.
Three players – Max Lowe, Timi Max Elsnik and Charles Vernam – made their first team debuts over the campaign, whilst the Rams’ senior squad was further represented over the course of the campaign.
After two years on the fringes, Mason Bennett, deservedly, broke back into the matchday fold from February onwards, whilst Farrend Rawson, Callum Guy and Calum Macdonald all made the substitutes bench at one point or another.
Wassall, Derby’s academy director, was keen to focus on the impact of the latest three players to make the grade with the Rams.
Lowe, the full back, made 12 appearances over the season after making his debut in the epic EFL Cup clash with Carlisle United and would have had far more opportunities but for injury.
Elsnik, the Slovenian midfielder, also played in that Cup clash with the Cumbrians and scored the winning penalty to settle the clash 14-13 at Pride Park, whilst he also appeared as a substitute against Liverpool.
Vernam, the forward, made the bench on a couple of occasions before he was given his chance as a late substitute in the memorable Emirates FA Cup Third Round victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns and later enhanced his first team experience by linking up with Coventry City, before he sustained a leg injury that prematurely ended his season.
Wassall says all three players were justly rewarded, but says the onus on them is to ensure they become far more regular features moving forward.
He told RamsTV: “We’re not here to win leagues and cups; that’s not our sole mission statement.
“As an Academy, we just want to give our young players an opportunity to get into our first team. That’s our raison d'être really.
“The fact that we have had three debuts this year is fantastic and it keeps us ticking along in terms of what we are all about.
“It’s great that we have maintained our position in Premier League 2 Division 1 because our young players will be, again, testing themselves against the best players in the country of their age group.
“That’s why it was so important for us to get that Category One Status. We wanted all of our young players, from the Under-9s to the Under-18s, are tested against top quality opposition week in, week out.
“The be all and end all for us, though, is that we make sure we are giving our young players an opportunity.
“Max (Lowe) got into double figures in terms of his first team games. He has performed very, very, well every time he played and it’s just so unfortunate that he has been so unlucky with injuries.
“That was the case last year as well so everyone is hoping at the club that he comes back fully fit over pre-season and does himself justice.
“He’s a great prospect – an England Under-20 international – and is one for the future. Timi (Max Elsnik) was around the first team squad all pre-season last summer and was justly rewarded with the performances that he put in.
“There was Charles Vernam too. He came on late against West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup and all three of those players deserved their debuts.
“We’re all just hoping now that they can go on to the next level and break into the first team squad on a far more regular basis.”
