As part of their preseason preparation, the Rams travel to Spain to play Stockport County. They then return home to finish off a few games before playing their second-tier opener against Blackburn Rovers on August 9.
Before the new season begins, a few Pride Park players will want to take advantage of those chances to demonstrate their value to Paul Warne’s team.
Here, FLW examines three players who are probably going to fit that description.
Tyrese Fornah
Tyrese Fornah signed a two-year contract with the Rams last summer after making a successful loan move from Nottingham Forest for an unknown price.
The 24-year-old, who made just 19 League One appearances for Derby last season—just nine of which came from the beginning—has found it difficult to replicate the promise he displayed for the Royals.
Given his age and prior experience, he will likely have a high transfer value. Since his contract is set to expire in the summer, it might be wise to cash in early if Warne believes that Fornah’s performance in the upcoming campaign will be similar to that of the previous one.
This preseason could be crucial if Fornah wants to stick around and establish himself at Pride Park. present his case to the supervisor. It appears that there is a good case for a sale.
Jake Rooney
Without any fault of his own, Jake Rooney comes into the new season at Derby with a point to make, but since his family has ties to Wayne, the former Rams manager, he’s undoubtedly accustomed to the pressure.
The 20-year-old was sidelined for the remainder of the season after sustaining an ACL injury to his right knee during the Rams’ game against Bolton Wanderers early in the previous campaign.
He will have to work hard to make sure he’s in Warne’s plans no matter what phase of the preseason or early Championship season he returns to.
Despite his immense potential, he has only made 21 appearances since moving from Burnley to the senior football team in 2022, and he has never played above the third division.
Similar to Fornah, he is too old to be placed on the transfer list, therefore he will have to prove he’s capable of playing at this level and that he recovered from his injury as the same player in order to avoid being placed on the waiting list.
Warne will undoubtedly give him the time he needs, but Rooney will need to overcome those early obstacles in the current campaign.
Similar to Fornah, he is too old to be placed on the transfer list, therefore he will have to prove he’s capable of playing at this level and that he recovered from his injury as the same player in order to avoid being placed on the waiting list.
Warne will undoubtedly give him the time he needs, but Rooney will need to overcome those early obstacles in the current campaign.
Conor Washington
The Northern Ireland international joined Pride Park from his last team, Rotherham United, in a move that, as it was later disclosed, will only incur transfer fees for the Rams upon the achievement of specific goals.
One term was believed to be promotion, which was activated; but, because of Washington’s volume of appearances, payment is not yet anticipated.
| Washington’s senior career, as per Transfermarkt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| QPR | 98 | 14 | 6 |
| Peterborough United | 94 | 32 | 11 |
| Charlton Athletic | 76 | 22 | 5 |
| Newport County | 47 | 8 | 6 |
| Rotherham United | 37 | 6 | 0 |
| Hearts | 22 | 4 | 3 |
| Derby County | 22 | 3 | 2 |
| Sheffield United | 16 | 0 | 1 |
In 19 League One games the previous season—a season marked by a protracted injury layoff for Washington—he finished with just three goals and two assists. Despite his impressive Championship pedigree, there might be concerns about his ability to return to the top following a somewhat quiet third-tier campaign given his age of thirty-two.
Derby will probably want to avoid paying the money if they anticipate receiving little in return, even though it is only believed to be owing to Rotherham should he reach a set amount of appearances.
Washington has played striking for a long enough period of time to be aware of the demands made on him. With one year remaining to run on his Derby contract, he will have to get off to a quick start in the preseason to establish himself as Pride Park’s main man next season.
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