Benjamin Atkinson

Central Defender - Derby County U18
3 Apr 2027
Saturday
Process

Marked for Benjamin Atkinson

3 Edition

The Derby County Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Sam Szmodics in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Derby County this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ryan Hedges

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Derby County

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Squad

Carlton Morris gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

One of our own: Samuel Harvey joins the Derby County first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Samuel Harvey is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Derby County promote Nicholas Harris from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nicholas Harris has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

George Wood steps up from the Derby County academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. George Wood has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

One of our own: Benjamin Atkinson joins the Derby County first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Benjamin Atkinson is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Match

A bad afternoon for Derby County against Southampton

0‑1 to Southampton, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief