Derby County have been told they have one of the ‘best players’ in League One.
The Rams are preparing to host Lincoln City in the third tier this evening, where they will look to pick up their fifth win in six league games.
Derby could move as high as third place today, while Lincoln will also be eager to make it six games unbeaten.
Paul Warne‘s side have netted 24 goals in their last ten games in all competitions and have been relying on some very strong attackers, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing impressing in particular.
The winger finished last season with eight goals and 10 assists, but has taken it up a notch this term and is already closing in on his previous tally.
Mendez-Laing has notched five goals and eight assists in all competitions this time round, with all of his goals coming in the last ten games.
The 31-year-old has been heavily praised by the media and has now taken credit from a rival manager too.
Ahead of Derby’s meeting with Lincoln, The Imps boss Michael Skubala claimed that Mendez-Laing was one of the very best in the league.
Speaking on Lincoln City’s YouTube channel, Skubala said: “They have found their form and they have some really good attacking players and experience.
“Like I said, physical [James] Collins up front and Laing on the wing, who is probably one of the best players in the league for me in that wide area and they have got real good experience at the back who can move the ball so it is going to be another tough game for us to go again, but we will try our best and try to get some points.”
How important is Nathaniel Mendez-Laing?
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has certainly shown his worth this season and seems to be ageing like fine wine, having only scored twice in League One with Sheffield Wednesday during the 2021-22 campaign.
But the attacker is on fire this term. Mendez-Laing has made the fifth-most key passes in the league (39), as well as completing the fourth-most successful dribbles (32).
In terms of the Derby squad, the Guatemala international has the second-most shots (35), fifth-most interceptions (11), most key passes (39) and he has made 32 successful dribbles – twice as many as second-place Kane Wilson (17).
Derby County were eager to bring in a goalscoring forward in the summer to boost their promotion hopes, but they certainly weren’t expecting Mendez-Laing to be quite as effective up top too.