In their first game back in the second division, Derby County made their presence known to the Championship when Paul Warne’s Rams soundly defeated Bristol City 3-0 in the previous game.
The only other league win Derby had this season came from a narrow 1-0 success over Michael Carrick’s crafty Middlesbrough team, but this most recent three-point win in front of the home crowd at Pride Park was far easier to come by.
With Nathaniel Mendez-Laing still full of potential for the recently promoted team, Derby will be hoping to complete the international break with more fashionable wins.
Mendez-Laing this season so far
The former Cardiff City man was instrumental last season in Derby winning promotion back up to the Championship via the top two, with the experienced head setting League One alight with his sublime performances.
The 32-year-old attacker would record an absurd nine goals and sixteen assists in league play, and his value to the team would only increase as he advanced in level, given his prior skill at the difficult level.
In Derby’s first four league games, he already has two assists to his name, but both of those goal contributions came away against Blackburn Rovers on the opening night; nothing else has gone right for him since.
The skilled Rams number 11 even struck the woodwork during his brilliant 74 minutes on the Pride Park field. That’s not to say Mendez-Laing didn’t give it his all for his team in the convincing 3-0 victory over the Robins. However, the goals and assists haven’t been as abundant as they were during his incredible League One season.
Warne might be persuaded to look into the free agency market in an effort to provide Mendez-Laing with a fresh, exciting partner on the left, even though recent events indicate that the Derby manager would need to cut a player from his 25-man roster in order to make room for a new addition.
Even though Craig Forsyth is 35 years old and definitely nearing the end of his career, the former Rotherham United boss may be considering signing a new left-back to give the Rams another opponent to go up against Callum Elder, who may be able to extract even more performance from their 32-year-old star player.
| Williams’ Championship numbers for Ipswich – 23/24 | |
|---|---|
| Stat (* = per game) | Williams |
| Games played | 15 |
| Games started | 8 |
| Goals scored | 2 |
| Goal conversion | 67% |
| Assists | 0 |
| Touches | 44.5 |
| Accurate passes* | 23.1 (82%) |
| Tackles* | 1.9 |
| Ball recoveries* | 4.5 |
| Total duels won* | 4.7 |
Williams had a brilliant tenure at Portman Road, making 15 appearances and scoring two goals as a lightning-fast down the left, including the spectacular solo goal above against Preston North End. He also won 4.7 duels on average during his brief stay.
Before accepting the Tractor Boys position, Kieran McKenna was a coach at Man United and mentored Williams as well. He called the 24-year-old’s magical moment against Preston “incredible” and praised his will and perseverance in addition to his outrageous goal.
Despite McKenna’s positive remarks, he was only given eight starts in Suffolk. Derby wants to show that he can be used as an impact substitute when clubs in the second tier are struggling.
Williams’ unwavering enthusiasm and bite could extract more from Mendez-Laing, who will want to finish his playing career in Derbyshire with a bang. Williams can also play at right-back if necessary.
