2025/26 REVIEW: A Busy Summer Window, Cup Success and Carlton's Clinical Start - Part One

As a memorable 2025/26 season comes to a close, we look back on another campaign of promising progress for the Rams. In this special end-of-season series, we’ll be breaking down Derby County’s journey to their highest league finish in seven years.

In this first part, we chart a hectic hive of summer transfer activity off the field and a testing opening month on it, as the Rams went toe-to-toe with Premier League opposition and two of the eventual automatic promotion winners.

Having secured their Sky Bet Championship status on the final day of the previous term, and now buoyed by no fewer than 10 new arrivals in the early stages of the window, the pre-season optimism around Pride Park Stadium was palpable.

Much of that enthusiasm arose because Head Coach, John Eustace - who had overseen the Rams’ resurgence at the back end of the 2024/25 campaign - was primed to take charge of his first full season at the club, though he was quick to temper expectations given such high player turnover.

The new signings count had climbed to double figures by the eve of the campaign, as Leigh Bromby and the recruitment team set about making Derby a force to be reckoned with in their second season back in the second tier.

The attacking ranks were bolstered with additional firepower in the forms of Patrick Agyemang, Rhian Brewster and Carlton Morris, while the experienced heads of Danny Batth, Richard O'Donnell and Andi Weimann all arrived on frees – the latter for his second spell in DE24.

Speaking of returning faces, David Ozoh signed on for another loan stint – having enjoyed a fruitful 2024/25 campaign at Pride Park – while the utilisation of the loan market also saw Owen Beck, Bobby Clark and Dion Sanderson through the door ahead of the opening day.

The Rams kicked off the new season as they concluded the last, against Stoke City, this time at the Bet365 Stadium. Debuts were handed to Batth and Morris from the off in Staffordshire, as Eustace continued with the back-three system which had secured survival.

The latter made an instant impression by acrobatically converting Corey Blackett-Taylor’s cross to put Derby one up on the hour before the Potters mounted a late comeback, scoring twice in injury time after Lewis Baker had earlier equalised to take the points.

Attention for the Rams quickly pivoted to cup action, where they picked up a first win of the campaign via a penalty shootout at fellow Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion.

After making nine changes to the XI – including first starts of the campaign for Ozoh, Clark, Sanderson and Weimann – Derby fell a goal behind midway through the second period and looked destined to fall at the Carabao Cup’s first hurdle.

Step forward, Joe Ward – and in dramatic fashion, no less. Marking his first start since December 2024 - following a long-term knee issue which left him in doubt over his career - the right-sider produced a last-gasp moment of wizardry to curl a free-kick into the top corner and force a shootout.

Josh Vickers proved the hero, thwarting Jed Wallace and Karlan Grant from 12 yards as the Rams progressed 3-2 on penalties at The Hawthorns.

Back to league duties, Derby’s maiden home contest of the campaign had a cup feel to the scoreline as they came out on the wrong side of an eight-goal thriller against eventual champions, Coventry City.

Frank Lampard returned to Pride Park – this time in the opposing dugout – and saw his side take an early lead through a fortuitous Bobby Thomas header, before Callum Elder’s rasping free-kick drew the Rams level – a sublime way to open the Australian’s goal-scoring account in black and white.

The visitors retook the lead via Haji Wright’s spot-kick but Morris was also on target from 12 yards to restore parity moments before the break. Ebou Adams powered Derby ahead before the Sky Blues scored three times in the space of seven minutes to turn the game on its head and clinch victory.

The Sky Sports cameras rolled into town the following Friday as the Rams hosted the Robins under the Friday night lights at Pride Park. Scott Twine’s strike ten minutes prior to the interval had Bristol City heading for the Championship summit, until Morris reacted quickest to the loose ball from Ward’s parried header to steer in a late equaliser.

Jacob Widell Zetterström was forced into evasive action in the final seconds of normal time to claw away Twine’s 25-yard free-kick – a stop which earned him the club’s Save of the Season award – as Derby secured their first point of the campaign.

Reward for success in the Black Country in the previous round set up a tie with Premier League Burnley at Turf Moor in the second stage of the Carabao Cup during the midweek thereafter.

Aaron Ramsey gave Scott Parker’s side a fourth-minute lead, but it didn’t deter the Rams, who entered the ascendency and were rewarded ten minutes before half-time when Clark notched his first goal in Derby colours.

Latching onto an Elder pass in-field, the Red Bull Salzburg loanee drove into the box with his first touch and finished confidently beyond Max Weiss in the Burnley goal with his second. It wasn’t to be for Rams, however, as Oliver Sonne scored a stoppage-time winner to send the Clarets into the third round.

Closing out the month at pre-season promotion favourites, Ipswich Town, Eustace’s side were boosted by the arrival of two further additions prior to the trip to Portman Road.

His skipper at Blackburn Rovers, Lewis Travis, put pen-to-paper on a four-year contract, while Scottish right-back Max Johnston arrived from Austrian Bundesliga outfit SK Sturm Graz on a similar length deal. Both were thrown straight in from the off in Suffolk, as both sides sought their first league wins of the campaign.

Ipswich drew first blood when Jacob Greaves headed in midway through the first half, but Morris kept up his record of scoring in each league game when he converted a penalty following a Leif Davis handball.

Brewster, making his first start for the Rams, had won the aforementioned penalty, before going a step further to put Derby 2-1 up. The summer signing latched onto a stray pass and burst through the home backline to slide his maiden goal for the club into the far corner.

Forced to contend with a mammoth 13 minutes of additional time at the end of the 90, Derby steadfastly held off the Tractor Boys’ advances until the final minute when the hosts were awarded a penalty. Jack Clarke duly converted and denied what would have been a mightily impressive away day success.