Owen Eames

Eames came through Derby's own academy and made an immediate impression, not through a flashy debut goal but through defensive effort, sprinting the length of the pitch to halt a dangerous counter attack in a match he had only just entered. That willingness to work without the ball is unusual in a young attacking midfielder. Most of that age are still learning that pressing matters as much as the pass they eventually want to play.

The natural question with any academy graduate this young is how quickly the physical side of senior football catches up with him. Energy and enthusiasm only carry a player so far once opponents are grown men rather than fellow academy prospects. If the creative instincts already on show develop at the same rate as his work rate has, Derby may have found something genuinely their own, rather than something bought.