Derby County saw around 20 players leave the club in the summer. Some were sold, some were released and in Ashley Cole’s case he hung up his boots.
The number seems high, but several academy players come to the end of their scholarship every summer while another managerial change prompts a new direction.
Players like Bradley Johnson, Alex Pearce, Luke Thomas and Jacob Butterfield joined fellow Championship clubs. Nick Blackman, meanwhile, headed to Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
But here we list three players who departed, and have yet to find a new club:
(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images).
Timi Elsnik:
Timi Elsnik joined the Derby academy back in 2015. The Slovenia U21 international showed plenty of promise for the development squad, and he spells out on loan.
He joined Swindon Town in 2017, Mansfield Town in 2018 and Northampton Town in 2019. Over the three spells, the 21-year-old made 50 League Two appearances.
Elsnik, however, saw his contract expire at Pride Park. And he somewhat bizarrely remains a free agent despite boasting experience at League Two and international level.
(Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images).
Efe Ambrose:
Efe Ambose joined Derby last January on a free transfer. He was drafted in as a replacement for Alex Peace who joined Millwall on loan until the end of the season.
The 51-capped Nigeria international was a regular for Hibernian up in Scotland at the time. It was a smart move by the Rams, considering Curtis Davies was out injured.
Ambrose was back up to Richard Keogh and Fikayo Tomori. However, he failed to play a single minute for the Rams with Keogh and Tomori striking up an excellent partnership.
The 30-year-old still has time on his side. However, he remains without a club.
(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images).
Marcus Olsson:
Marcus Olsson joined Derby from Blackburn Rovers in January 2016. He competed with fellow left-back Craig Forsyth and covered the Scot during his injury troubles.
The Swede’s finest moment in a Derby shirt was scoring the winner during the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest during Darren Wassall’s spell as caretaker manager.
Olsson, however, suffered an ACL injury in 2018 and missed the entire 2018-19 campaign. With his contract up, Derby released the player in the summer.
At 31, he is another who still has years left at a decent level. Olsson was a solid player at Pride Park, and it’s surprising to see he hasn’t yet earned a deal elsewhere.