A number of Derby County players have impressed in the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign.
It has been a mixed opening to the season for Paul Warne’s men, who are currently on a three-game losing streak.
Derby lost to Sunderland in their last Championship fixture, seeing the Rams slip down to 14th in the table.
However, Warne and co. have had some really tricky games recently, with Sunderland top of the league and Sheffield United – another team they lost to recently – currently undefeated this season.
Despite their recent struggles, several Derby players have shone at times during 2024/25 so far.
Callum Elder lauded Kenzo Goudmijn as ‘terrific’ in the win over Cardiff City at Pride Park on September 14th.
Warne praised Kayden Jackson after a pre-season clash back in August as well, with the forward having carried that form into the proper campaign.
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Highest-rated Derby County players this season
Derby signed Jackson from Ipswich Town on a free transfer back in July and he has since cemented himself as a key player under Warne.
The 30-year-old scored his first league goal for the Rams on August 17th when Derby beat Middlesbrough 1-0.
He then provided an assist against Watford before scoring a second in the 3-0 domination of Bristol City at the end of August.
However, Opta have shared who they rank as the highest-rated Derby players in 2024/25 so far and Jackson only takes second place with an Opta Points rating of 114.4.
Another summer addition, Goudmijn, tops the list by some distance with a rating of 121.8.
Eiran Cashin, Ebou Adams, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Curtis Nelson, David Ozoh, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Ryan Nyambe and Elder make up the rest of the top 10.
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Tawanda Chirewa needs to step up for Derby County
A good chunk of the list from Opta is made up of players Derby signed during the 2024 summer transfer window.
One summer signing who has not quite reached his full potential in Derbyshire, however, is Tawanda Chirewa.
The forward moved to Pride Park on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August and has struggled to make an impact so far.
He did suffered a concussion recently which forced him to miss a few games. But Chirewa was poor vs Sunderland and may now need to be dropped for the meeting with Queens Park Rangers this Saturday.
The forward line has been a problem area for Warne this term, with Jerry Yates still yet to find the back of the net.
As a result, it is imperative wide players like Chirewa and the aforementioned Jackson step up and chip in with some much-needed goals.