3/1 To Win
Midfielder Beni Baningime has only been with his new Derby County team-mates for a couple of days but he believes there is a lot to be optimistic about heading into the final few months of the Sky Bet Championship season.
The 22-year-old signed on loan from Premier League Everton for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign on deadline day earlier this week and made his debut in the defeat against Rotherham United on Wednesday night as a late substitute.
Baningime, who has featured heavily for the Toffee’s Under-23s squad in recent years and made a handful of first-team appearances, joined the Rams to provide back up as well as challenge for a starting spot in the heart of midfield.
He is a former team-mate of Derby manager Wayne Rooney after the pair played with each other at Goodison Park during the 2017/18 campaign.
The midfielder is pleased to be reunited with the 35-year-old and after meeting with Rooney and the Rams’ squad, Baningime believes there are many positives to take.
“I am settling in well,” he told RamsTV. “I am very happy to be here and the lads have been great. I know the gaffer and he has been great with me and speaking to me. It’s great to be here.
“The first meeting was on Tuesday. We had a meeting and the lads that had just signed came as well and the gaffer spoke to us about everything, including how he wants us to play and the different ways.
“It was really reassuring going into the game knowing a little bit even though we hadn’t trained, but we knew a little bit about what the lads are like. There is a real fight in this team.
“You see the lads, we got shown some clips of the lads running back and that’s the type of team I want to play for. There is real togetherness in the group and everyone is speaking to you. It’s very good to be here.”
The switch to Derby is Baningime’s second loan spell away from Goodison Park, having spent all-but six months of his career on Merseyside.
He featured for Wigan Athletic in their 2018/19 campaign, but is now keen to prove himself now away from home comforts and explained more about his game.
“I am a fighter and a guy who works hard for the team,” he said. “I get around the pitch and when I am on the ball, I like to keep it ticking. That is my playing style.”
Baningime made his Everton debut alongside Rooney in a EFL Cup fixture against Chelsea back in October 2017. He played the full 90 minutes in a narrow 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge and he is pleased to be reunited with him.
“What a player he was and you look at his career and think if you can do half of that then you have had a good career,” he commented.
“To see him and knowing he has such a knowledge of football and him saying, ‘I want you and I want you in my team and you are in my plans’, it is good to hear as a player.”
