Carlton Morris became the first signing for Head Coach John Eustace at the Rams, arriving in June 2025.

The striker brought a wealth of experience and quality to Derby’s forward line, and was a man possessed in front of goal for the Rams at the start of the 2025/26 season; 10 goals from the first 15 matches saw him riding high as the division’s top scorer before a knee injury cruelly curtailed his campaign.

After three months on the sidelines, the striker bagged two further goals and completed the campaign as Derby’s highest scorer with 12 to his tally.

Before Derby, Morris had made a name for himself at Luton Town across a rollercoaster three seasons with the Hatters.

He was named in the Championship Team of the Season in his first season in Bedfordshire as he netted 20 goals on the way to Premier League promotion in 2022/23.

He scored 11 goals and recorded four assists in the Premier League, which included contributions against Manchester United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa, while he also wore the captain’s armband regularly during the second half of the season.

The forward continued as skipper for 2024/25 as the Hatters endured a difficult campaign, but Morris still reached double figures for goal contributions.

The striker began his footballing journey with Norwich City’s academy, where he won the FA Youth Cup in May 2013 before signing his first professional deal seven months later.

He made his sole appearance for his first club during the 2014/15 season, after short spells on loan with Oxford United and York City.

He enjoyed regular first-team football the following year, when he joined Scottish Premiership side Hamilton Academical for the season, where he scored eight times in 33 appearances.

From there, Morris made loan switches to Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town in 2016/17 and 2017/18, respectively, and it was his switch to Shropshire that proved the most fruitful of his career so far, reaching double-figures for the first time with 10 goals in all competitions – as Salop finished third in League One.

Morris rejoined Rotherham before two spells with Milton Keynes Dons during 2020, after which he departed Carrow Road on a permanent deal to join Championship side Barnsley.

Arriving midway through the 2020/21 season, he contributed with seven goals during the second half of the campaign as the Tykes finished fifth to reach the play-offs, where they were eventually beaten by Swansea City in the semi-finals.

After one more season at Oakwell, the striker joined Luton Town in the summer of 2022 and secured Premier League promotion in his first season.