The Derby County Herald
Squad15 May 2028
Tempers go at Derby County
Jacob Widell Zetterström was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market15 May 2028
Luis Vázquez has his eye on Europe
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Derby County can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at Derby County
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lewis Travis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market15 May 2028
Derby County promote Benjamin Lawrence from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Benjamin Lawrence 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.
Market15 May 2028
Michael Hunter steps up from the Derby County academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Michael Hunter 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.
Market15 May 2028
Mark King steps up from the Derby County academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mark King 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.
Squad15 May 2028
Alvin Ayman signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alvin Ayman commits to Derby County for another 4 years.
The dugout15 May 2028
When it matters, Benjamin White plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Stefano Paglino
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
In brief
- Squad Matheus Cunha still has not settled
- The dugout Augustus Kargbo knocks on the manager’s door
- The dugout A door opens for Karl Darlow