Derby County have seen a plethora of talented youngsters leave Pride Park in recent years and there is one who may live to regret that decision.
Derby’s youth academy is a goldmine for producing precocious talents.
In recent years, the Rams have watched Will Hughes flourish in the Premier League with Crystal Palace and Watford while Morgan Whittaker is one of the Championship’s most sought-after players.
That is before even mentioning the youngsters who departed the club during their period of financial upheaval and administration.
Archie Brown – who left for Swiss side Laussane-Sport in 2021 – is now attracting interest from some Premier League giants after flourishing in the Belgian Pro League with Gent.
Omari Kellyman’s career has followed a similar trajectory. He joined Aston Villa as a 16-year-old in 2022 and has now sealed a £19 million move to Chelsea.
There was one player who made that move to Stamford Bridge in 2022, though, who could live to regret that decision.
Dylan Williams may regret leaving Derby County for Chelsea
Chelsea acted fast in their pursuit to sign Derby County youngster Dylan Williams two years ago as the Rams suffered financial turmoil.
A product of Derby’s academy, the 20-year-old left-back has since caught the eye in the Blues under-21 setup, scoring three times and adding six assists in 58 appearances.
The prospect of Williams ever breaking into the first-team at Stamford Bridge is slim and the talented full-back has recognised that by sealing a loan move to League One outfit Burton Albion, who can sign him permanently at the end of the season.
Moving to Chelsea was a prospect that ultimately appealed to the Englishman however, he did sacrifice first-team football at Derby for the sake of being trapped in the under-21’s in West London.
Williams was handed his senior debut by Wayne Rooney, with the youngster making six appearances in the Championship following his first against Birmingham City in October 2021.
Whilst that campaign ultimately ended in relegation, Rooney was impressed by Williams’s displays, lauding him as “excellent” in the goalless draw against league leaders West Brom.
“I thought he was excellent,” he said after the game. “To come to West Brom, top of the league, a difficult team to play against, and so the biggest compliment I can give him is putting him in for this game, his first league start, and he didn’t let anyone down.”
Dylan Williams could be a first-team regular at Derby County right now
At the time, no one could blame Williams for joining Chelsea. As a teenager, it’s everyone’s dream to play for one of the biggest clubs on the planet but the pathway to first-team stardom at the Stamford Bridge was always going to be near impossible to navigate.
Instead, if he stayed at Derby, he would have had a near guarantee of playing regular senior football and gaining much more experience than he has done at Chelsea.
During that period, the Rams had just dropped to League One and Rooney’s show of faith in the youngster would have surely led to Paul Warne giving him opportunities.
Now, while Derby are preparing for a Championship campaign, Williams is readying himself for a season in League One with Burton, showing the grass isn’t always greener.