3/1 To Win
With Derby County’s Under-23 squad depleted after several loan departures, Luke Thomas has called on some of the club’s extremely talented Under-18s to make the step up in the second half of the season.
Max Lowe, Charles Vernam, Callum Guy, Offrande Zanzala and Emil Jakobsen have all been regulars for Darren Wassall’s side this season but they have all moved elsewhere on temporary deals this month.
Thomas has starred for the Under-23s this term and he is keen to see what some of the younger players can bring to the table, starting with the Premier League 2 – Division One clash with Swansea City on Monday night at St George’s Park.
He told RamsTV: “I think there’s only about eight of us left now! The dressing room is still good, there’s a few more people that are getting a bit louder now so that’s all good.
“The loan window is good for the younger players, especially the Under-18s because they’ve been doing so well and I’m sure they’ll get their chance to be involved with the Under-23s.
“Some of the Under-18s have trained with us before and they don’t look out of place, they’re a very talented group so when we all train together there’s no one that isn’t as good as anyone else and we all fight for each other.
“The supporters have seen a lot of Jayden Bogle, he’s been with us a lot in the Under-23s and he’s done very well so he’s one to look out for.”
The Rams were beaten 5-2 at the Liberty Stadium back at the start of September, but the Under-23’s form picked up from then onwards, with several big wins securing a comfortable midtable standing in the league at the turn of the year.
Thomas, keen to improve on the early-season showing in South Wales, said: “As a team we played very well, we kept the ball but they had a very strong side out so even though we didn’t get the result, we were still pleased with our performance.
“We know what to expect with every game we go into, we know that we can beat them if we play our game and do everything in the right way.”
