Derby County

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Derby County forward Patrick Agyemang will be sidelined for "about nine months" with his Achilles injury, boss John Eustace has confirmed.

The US international picked up the serious injury following an awkward landing during Derby's victory against Stoke City on Monday but the club were hesitant to offer a timeline on his recovery.

The injury also ends the American's dreams of starring for his country at a home World Cup, which is set to take place in the US, Canada and Mexico this summer.

"He's obviously devastated to be missing the World Cup," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"Patrick has been a real focal point for us. His development this year has been outstanding and it's going to be a huge blow to us first and foremost for him not to finish the season.

"To miss the World Cup, he's worked his socks off to get into that squad and I think he was very close."

Agyemang's season has ended at a pivotal time for the Rams, who are still in the running for a play-off position.

But while the forward may be a huge loss, Derby still have players in top form - including on-loan midfielder Bobby Clark, who the side are keen to sign permanently from Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg this summer.

"We certainly hope so, why not?" Eustace added. "We want to grow the football club and we want keep as many of our top players as we can and Bobby is certainly one of them.

"Everyone connected with Derby can see how well he's done and how he's part of the family and we'd love to continue his development."

Derby next face promotion rivals Southampton, who are just three points above them in sixth place, away at St Mary's on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Forward Sammie Szmodics has returned to training after being knocked unconscious during international duty with the Republic of Ireland and has not yet been ruled out of Saturday's fixture.

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Amelia Warren
Fan writer

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A huge game in the race for the play-offs takes place on Saturday afternoon, when Derby travel to the league's in-form side, Southampton.

Unfortunately for Derby, they will face arguably their toughest test between now and the end of the season without key players Patrick Agyemang, and Ben Brereton Diaz.

Agyemang left the field on a stretcher in the first half of Monday's win against Stoke after suffering an Achilles injury, which also means he will no longer be available to compete in this summer's World Cup for the USA.

It is devastating news for a player who has been so influential for Derby throughout this campaign.

Brereton Diaz will also be unavailable due to Southampton being his parent club.

Two huge blows for Derby, which will no doubt have an effect on their attacking cutting edge.

In Agyemang, the Rams are going to miss having a player who is a focal point, and has the ability to make clever runs in behind. Something which you believe Derby would have looked to use to exploit the Saints' high defensive line.

With Brereton Diaz's absence, Derby will lose someone who possesses a lot of energy, and has an incredible work rate, pressing continuously throughout the 90 minutes.

In terms of replacements, Carlton Morris will provide that physicality and presence up front that the Rams will miss in Agyemang.

The experienced head of Morris will also be a key asset to Derby on Saturday, particularly in periods where they may need to slow the game down and relieve pressure.

Derby's number nine got back on the scoresheet on Monday, netting for the first time since returning from injury. With this you expect him to be full of confidence, and even hungrier to find the net again this weekend.

Sammie Szmodics could be back in contention for a starting spot, after he suffered a concussion on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.

Szmodics would bring the ability to find space between the lines, and also look to get on the end of chances by utilising late runs into the box.

With him in the side, Derby will be more inclined to use quick passing combinations, much like they did for their impressive second goal against Stoke City on Monday, rather than crosses into the box that would enable physical aerial battles.

Jaydon Banel is perhaps the surprise package for Derby, and he could be the one to really make the difference at the weekend. He possesses bags of pace, a fearless attacking approach, and comes into the game off the back of scoring his first goal in English football.

Banel will replace Derby's natural width in the absence of both Brereton Diaz and Agyemang, whilst also allowing the Rams to have an out-ball, likely opening up good counter attacking opportunities and creating a threat in transitions.

The Rams have a good balance of experienced and exciting attacking options to step up and take their opportunities, in the absence of two players who have been really key to their success so far this season.

The upcoming challenge at St Mary's will undoubtedly be a tough one, but should the Rams be able to adapt and cope without their absentees, they could find a result that may be pivotal to whether they finish inside or outside the Championship play-off places come the end of the season.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Southampton are hoping for a sixth successive win in all competitions having reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a victory over Arsenal last weekend and won 5-1 at Wrexham on Tuesday to move into the Championship play-off places.

Derby have won as many games away as they have at home this season (9) but were beaten at Coventry on their last road trip.

• Southampton have lost just one of their past 10 league games against Derby (W3 D6), going down 1-0 at home in February 2007.

• This is Derby's first away league game against Southampton since February 2012, when they lost 4-0 under Nigel Clough.

• Since Tonda Eckert's first game in charge of Southampton on 5 November, the Saints have picked up the most points (54) and scored the most goals (55) of any Championship side.

• John Eustace has picked up 84 points in 55 Championship games with Derby County (W24 D12 L19), the fifth-most of any side since his first game in charge last February.

• Finn Azaz has been involved in eight goals in his past 12 home league starts for Southampton (5 goals, 3 assists), including three in his last three (2 goals, 1 assist).

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Oxford United's Matt Bloomfield, Tonda Eckert of Southampton, West Brom interim boss James Morrison and Coventry's Frank Lampard have all been nominated for the March Championship manager of the month award.

Bloomfield led Oxford to seven points from their four games last month to give them hope of avoiding relegation from the Championship, while Eckert's Southampton went unbeaten in March - and won at leaders Coventry.

Morrison was handed the task of lifting West Brom clear of the bottom three and took eight points from an unbeaten four-game run.

Coventry have continued their charge towards the Premier League, with Lampard overseeing three wins and just that one blemish in the defeat by Southampton.

Southampton goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and West Brom defender George Campbell are nominated for the player of the month award along with Millwall striker Josh Coburn and Derby defender Matt Clarke.

The winners of both awards will be announced on Friday morning.

Derby County head coach John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby following Monday's 2-0 win against Stoke City.

"I thought it was an excellent performance today. The boys were top drawer from start to finish," he said.

"Obviously after Friday night and the effort they put in against the best team in the league [Coventry City] was outstanding, and to come away with nothing was really disappointing.

"We could easily have turned up today feeling a little sorry for ourselves, but the way the lads really stepped on and were on the front foot, the football we played today was outstanding."

On Patrick Agyemang's injury: "Pat's gone off and gone for a scan, so we will have to wait and see. We don't want to see any player going off on a stretcher, and we don't want to lose our best players, so let's see how long it will be."

Derby County manager John Eustace claims the Rams must defend better after they narrowly lost a see-saw match 3-2 at Coventry City.

Ben Brereton Diaz twice levelled for promotion-chasing Derby before Jack Rudoni netted a late winner for Coventry and Eustace was unhappy with his side's defending for all three Sky Blues goals.

He told BBC Radio Derby: "I thought the whole team performance was very good.

"The three goals we conceded were really poor from our part and it's something, moving forward, we've got to stop doing, especially when we got to back to 2-2, I thought we could go and win it.

"We've conceded really sloppy goals, not doing the basics, tracking runners and not defending well enough.

"It's just not good enough. We could have a lot more points this season if we had done it for the whole 95 minutes and we spoke about that in the dressing room. But we still can't take away from the effort of the group today.

"You look at the players they're bringing on to make changes in that second half and we've still gone toe to toe with them.

"We're really disappointed we haven't won the game and the way we played in the first half was excellent."

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Derby County head coach John Eustace expects "more growth" from his side as they try to end the season on a high and secure a play-off spot.

The Rams are eighth in the Championship, three points off the play-offs, but face a testing Easter weekend with a trip to league leaders Coventry on Friday (20:00 BST) before they host Stoke City on Monday.

Eustace says he would have snapped your hand off to be in this position after a tough start to the campaign, but is keen not to go up another level for the run-in.

"Really proud of the effort of the whole football club to get to this stage," Eustace said.

"To be in this position with seven games to go is a fantastic achievement, but we want to keep going and see how high we can finish.

"If you take the first 10 games out we'd be in a much stronger position. There's still a lot more growth to come from this group so let's enjoy the ride and keep going.

"We're playing two top teams and I'm sure it'll be a great atmosphere in both games."

Eustace also provided an update on his squad before the double header.

Sam Szmodics is unavailable for both games as he recovers from the concussion sustained on international duty, while forward Rhian Brewster is a doubt after picking up a knock in his most recent outing.

Meanwhile, Patrick Agyemang and Ben Brereton Diaz are both available after impressing on international duty for the United States and Chile, respectively.

"He's great now," Eustace said of Szmodics. "He's been going through all the protocols he has to.

"He's ticking all the right boxes, unfortunately he can't play on Friday or Monday, which is a huge blow to us. The most important thing is he's healthy and he's getting better.

"Patrick's worked his socks off this season and it's great that he scored. We want to help him get to the World Cup with the USA squad. He's making the right moves, he's just got to keep going.

"Rhian's being assessed. We'll have to wait and see, but he's making steady progress."

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Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Image source, Opta

Championship leaders Coventry City could take another big step towards the Premier League when they host play-off hopefuls Derby County on Friday night (kick-off 20:00 BST).

The Sky Blues are nine points clear of second-placed Middlesbrough and 11 clear of Ipswich in third, albeit having played one game more than the Tractor Boys.

Frank Lampard's side have won seven of their past eight games (L1) and need 13 more points from their final seven matches to guarantee promotion.

The Rams are in impressive form themselves with four wins in their past five games and are three points behind the top six going into this round of fixtures.

• Following their 5-3 win in August, Coventry are looking to complete the league double over Derby for the first time since 2003-04.

• Derby won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, last winning consecutive away league games against Coventry in March/December 1988.

• Coventry have won seven of their past eight league games. The exception in that run was their last home game against Southampton – the Sky Blues haven't lost consecutively at home since September 2024.

• Derby have won nine away games in the Championship this season, last winning more on the road in a second tier campaign in 2013-14 (11).

• Derby's Lars-Jørgen Salvesen is averaging a goal or an assist every 83 minutes in the Championship this season (3 goal, 2 assists in 416 minutes), the best rate of any player to play 400+ minutes.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

One player who has particularly impressed this season in black and white is Patrick Agyemang.

Since arriving at Pride Park from Charlotte FC last summer, the American has netted 10 times, whilst also registering three assists.

Arguably, his most impressive performances have come from the left hand side, where he has played an inverted winger role and regularly bullied his way past opposition full-backs to get into the box and create chances.

With Carlton Morris' lengthy absence from the team earlier on in the season, Agyemang was also on hand to adapt to being the main 'number nine' for Derby, a role which he more than rose to the challenge of, and continues to flourish in.

It's fair to say Agyemang has probably been Derby's signing of the season. With most opposition fans commenting on his impressive performances against them throughout the campaign, and regularly expressing their desire to have a player like him in their team.

As is the case with most strikers though, Agyemang has recently suffered a dip in form, and is now seven games without a goal or assist for the Rams. A run which has left him visibly frustrated during matches.

This has been paired with some tough physical battles with opposing defenders, where often a lot of grappling and holding has resulted in him hitting the deck, or being illegally dispossessed, without referees consistently picking up on it. Adding to not only his frustrations, but supporters' too.

Despite this, he has had joy on international duty with the USA this week, scoring once in a 5-2 defeat by Belgium, in which he played 19 minutes from the bench.

For me this goal could kickstart a significant shift in his confidence and form, which could be a defining factor in the Rams' end to the season.

Going into the final seven matches of the campaign with something still to play for, fine margins are going to be where crucial games, and ultimately final table places, are decided. In these fine margin, high pressure moments, it's crucial that you have a confident striker in your side.

After a rocky run at club level, heading out on international duty and getting on the scoresheet will do Agyemang's confidence the world of good.

Should he come back to Derby and be able to replicate anything close to the kind of form he was in between 17 January and 14 February, where he scored four goals in six games, then he could have a huge say in whether Derby can creep into the play-off places.

For a team that hasn't been renowned for playing possession based football all season, it's important that the Rams can be as clinical as possible throughout the run in, and turn as many chances into goals as possible.

Particularly in games against opponents such as Southampton, a fixture which will no doubt have massive implications on the Championship table.

With Morris still working his way back to full fitness, and continuing to have his minutes managed, it will be Agyemang who will be called upon as Derby's main target man to deliver, and create a potentially special end to the season for the Rams.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

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Derby County's on-loan forward Ben Brereton Diaz was on the scoresheet as Chile beat Cape Verde 4-2 in their Fifa series match in Auckland on Friday afternoon.

The 26-year-old is on a season-long loan from Southampton and opened the scoring for the South Americans in the 16th minute of the game at Eden Park for his 10th international goal in his 41st appearance.

Cape Verde who, unlike Chile, have qualified for this year's World Cup finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, went in at the break 2-1 in front before conceding three goals in 21 second-half minutes.

Chile will play hosts New Zealand in their second game of the mini tournament on Monday, with the home nation having lost 2-0 to Finland at the same venue later in the day.

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Derby forward Sam Szmodics has praised the medical staff who helped him after he was knocked unconscious while playing for the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup play-off defeat by the Czech Republic on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old, who is on loan at the Rams from Ipswich Town, was left on the ground in Prague following an aerial challenge, six minutes after coming on as a substitute in extra-time.

He left the pitch on a stretcher and was taken to hospital where head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson confirmed shortly after the game he was conscious.

"Gutted the way it ended. Fans and boys immense all evening," Szmodics said in a post on X., external

"Appreciate everyone's messages and thank you to the medical staff who acted so quickly to help me. On the mend."

The Republic led 2-0 inside 25 minutes of the tie only to be pegged back by the home side and go on to lose 4-3 on penalties.