Derby County scored big with academy ace who made the Rams £10.5m cash: View | OneFootball

Jeff Hendrick made 214 appearances for the Rams between 2011 and 2016.

Derby County's academy is one of the strongest in all of the EFL.

The Rams have seen the likes of Eiran Cashin, Jason Knight and Max Bird all step up from the youth ranks at Moor Farm, the club's training ground, to the first-team in recent years - with all three making over 100 appearances for the team each.

The latter two left Pride Park in 2023 and 2024, both joining Bristol City, while the former has become a mainstay in the first team and led his side out as captain for the first time against Sunderland in September 2024.

Nevertheless, while these newer academy graduates have started to form their own careers, it is Jeff Hendrick who is perhaps remembered as one of the first great modern ones to have started at Derby.

The now 32-year-old is a free agent but 13 years ago, he was just beginning to break onto the scene at Pride Park, building a legacy at the club where he spent a lot of his formative years.

Hendrick was near-perfect during his time with Derby

The former Republic of Ireland international was handed his Championship debut in April 2011 against Burnley, the club that he later left the Rams for, and he made appearances in the final three games of the 2010/11 campaign.

By the time the next season started, Hendrick had become a regular in pre-season and was quickly introduced as a key component in the starting XI, before scoring his first goal for Derby in unbelievably dramatic circumstances.

His late winner against Nottingham Forest still lives on in the memory of supporters everywhere, as the Rams came from behind to beat their bitter rivals 2-1 at the City Ground - playing nearly the entirety of the match with 10 players.

The midfielder racked up 42 appearances in the second tier in 2011/12, scoring twice more while also registering three assists in what was a breakout year.

At the age of 20, Hendrick entered the next season already a seasoned professional, and was one of the first names on the teamsheet every week for Nigel Clough, forming an excellent partnership with Craig Bryson. The Rams had started to improve since the academy graduate first joined up with the senior squad, and their upward trajectory continued, finishing 10th in the 2012/13 campaign.

But, it took until Clough's sacking for Hendrick to truly prove himself as one of the Championship's best midfielders.

Hendrick's excellence under Steve McClaren led to his big-money move

Following nearly five years in charge of Derby, Clough was sacked, being replaced by Steve McClaren, who took the Rams back toward the top of the second tier.

In an unbelievable season, the East Midlands club reached the play-off final, only being denied a place in the Premier League by a 90th-minute Bobby Zamora winner for QPR at Wembley.

Nevertheless, a 5-0 win over Forest, a dominant play-off semi-final aggregate victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, and consistent wins made it a campaign to be extremely proud of - especially for Hendrick, who relished playing in the attacking system that McClaren had set up.

The 2014/15 season was the then 22-year-old's best in terms of goal involvements, scoring seven times and registering eight assists. However, a late collapse in form saw Derby miss out on the play-offs, and they had to settle for Championship football once again.

In what proved to be his final full campaign as a Ram, Hendrick struggled to live up to the standards that he previously set himself while a shoulder injury picked up on international duty, followed by a thigh issue, saw his season end early.

Despite this, he was fantastic at Euro 2016 with the Republic of Ireland and his performances for his nation drew attention from the Premier League, most namely Burnley.

The Clarets nearly missed out on their target that summer after he picked up yet another injury, this time to his hamstring in a 2-0 defeat to Barnsley in Derby's second game of the 2016/17 season, a game that was to be his last in black-and-white.

Burnley submitted a £10.5 million bid on deadline day for the 24-year-old, securing his services on a three-year deal after having another offer turned down a few weeks earlier.

The move brought to an end a seven-year association with the Rams, and he is still regarded as one of the best midfielders the club has had in the modern era, as well as one of their best academy graduates in the 21st century.