Derby County have ranked in the top 100 in the world for one interesting statistic.
The Rams’ brilliant start has been courtesy of the brilliant signings made by Pride Park and his team this summer, with them bringing in several players to replace a fairly ageing squad.
The likes of Conor Hourihane and Korey Smith departed the club in the centre-of-the-park following the promotion from League One in the 2023/24 season, and Paul Warne has done incredibly well in particular to bolster his midfield options with younger players.
Whilst Ben Osborn and Ebou Adams were signed this summer, who have bags of experience playing at this level, midfield duo Kenzo Goudmijn and David Ozoh have been the key players in the midfield, despite their lack of experience and average age of 20.5.
It is clear that Warne has done very well this season when working with a youthful side, and one stat shows clearly how well of a job he has done with his youthful side at Derby County.
Derby County rank as the 79th most youth-oriented club in the world
There are no doubts that Derby County have one of the younger squads in the Championship, and the statistics back that up as the Rams rank as the 79th most youth-oriented club in the world, per Football Observatory.
The rankings have been made based on the amount of minutes handed to U21 players in domestic league matches, from September 9th 2021 to 2024, with the Rams giving 15.1% of gametime to youngsters.
This leaves them ranked 2nd in the Championship, behind Sunderland with 22.2%.
Derby County, in the timescale provided, have played the most national players in the Championship, with 18 being handed league minutes.
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Derby County ranking shows great job that Paul Warne is doing
It is very clear that there is a sense of importance surrounding the youth academy at Derby County, and there are no doubts that the necessity of playing youth players can potentially affect Warne’s plans.
However, the Rams boss has done brilliantly in nurturing the young players within the side, whilst also making significant progress in the league table, with it not hindering him.
It may have been somewhat expected that Derby County would potentially falter in the Championship as a result of the lack of experience within their ranks, especially with the departure of some key figures in the dressing room in the summer, however Warne has rode the storm incredibly and sought to get the best out of the youthful players within his side, with Goudmijn and Ozoh shining in particular.