Frank Lampard has named the one player who ‘changed everything’ during his spell at Derby County.
Frank Lampard kickstarted his management career with Derby County in 2018 and produced one of their most exciting teams of recent years.
As well as knocking Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup, The Rams went onto reach the Championship play-offs after finishing sixth in the Championship.
Derby then lost the final to Aston Villa, before Lampard jumped ship and joined former club Chelsea following Maurizio Sarri’s exit.
The 45-year-old struggled following his departure from Pride Park and endured three very underwhelming spells at Chelsea (twice) and Everton, with his time in the Midlands easily bringing him the most success.
While Lampard was praised for his stint with Derby, it was the players that he brought in that really impressed.
The former midfielder used his contacts at Chelsea to bring in the promising duo of Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, while he also signed Harry Wilson on loan from Liverpool.
At the time, Mount looked far from the first team at Stamford Bridge and had just returned from a loan spell in the Netherlands with Vitesse.
The midfielder quickly attracted attention though, netting eleven goals in all competitions for The Rams, as well as providing five assists.
It was Mount’s spell in Derby that catapulted him to fame with Chelsea, though a summer move to Manchester United has so far disappointed.
Despite going through a rough patch, Lampard has heaped praise on his former player.
While speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Lampard said: “From my point of view, because I took him to Derby, he changed everything there for me really. Him and Tomori and Wilson, but Mason particularly, his level in training was a high, high level. Pressing brilliant, off-the-ball stuff brilliant, if you want to give him information he takes it like that [clicks fingers].
“Will jump [forward to press], will recover, will jump, will recover. A great lad, good technically, very good technically.”
What happened to Derby County’s 2018-19 stars?
It is very interesting how Derby County’s key men have fared since that 2018-19 season.
Frank Lampard looked set for an exceptional career in management, but took the step up to the Premier League too soon – though we all knew that. He has now arguably ruined his reputation, and it would be a huge surprise to see him return to top flight football anytime soon.
Mason Mount was excellent for Chelsea for a long time as he won the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup, but it has been a difficult year or so for him and he now looks far from his best.
Fikayo Tomori took an unexpected turn to Milan a few years ago and has been killing it in Serie A, while Harry Wilson was sent out on another three times before completing a move to Fulham.