2 Derby County players who are surely eyeing a 2025 Pride Park escape route | OneFootball

Conor Washington has found his involvement very limited so far, while Lennon Wheeldon is an up-and-coming striker who needs a loan.

Derby County's summer transfer window was one that they can look back on with pride following promotion back to the Championship.

The Rams completed some very shrewd signings, and did not sell any of their players after releasing seven following the expiration of their contracts at the end of last season.

Nevertheless, the January window will already be on the mind of Paul Warne as well as all the other managers across the leagues, and there could potentially be even more changes to this Derby squad, one that is already unidentifiable to the one that last played in the second tier in 2022.

The Rams have a host of talented young players in their U21s and U18s who may be looking for loans in the winter after already impressing in the opening weeks of the season, while some fringe players in the senior team may be searching for more game-time.

Football League World has taken a look at two players who may use the January window to get more minutes under their belt in a different setting.

Lennon Wheeldon

18-year-old Lennon Wheeldon already looks like a star in the making after scoring two goals in his first two games in the Premier League 2 for the club's U21s team in 2024/25.

The striker joined Derby as an U16s player from nearby Notts County, and has proven in his few years at the Rams already, why he was highly sought after.

He scored nine goals in his 20 matches for the U18s in his first full season, and has since gone on to move up the ranks to the highest level of development football.

Wheeldon made his professional debut back in November 2023 in the EFL Trophy, playing out the final 20 minutes in the Rams' 4-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s, but has since been kept away from the first-team.

With the success that fellow young striker Dajaune Brown had while on loan at Gateshead in the National League last season, Wheeldon should push for a move of his own to the fifth tier to give him the experience he needs in senior football.

Conor Washington

Conor Washington's first 12 months at Derby were possibly not what he quite expected, and the start of the 2024/25 campaign has been even more tough.

After signing from Warne's former club, Rotherham United, in July 2023, the Northern Ireland international has made just 19 league appearances for the Rams.

He is yet to find his way onto the pitch this season, and has been featured in the matchday squad just three times in the first six games in all competitions. Two of those appearances on the bench came in the Carabao Cup, and he has instead been forced down the pecking order to fourth-choice striker, behind Jerry Yates, James Collins and Dajaune Brown.

The addition of Kayden Jackson has also made the 32-year-old's life even more difficult, with the former Ipswich Town man able to play both on the wing and as the number nine.

With just three goals to his name in a Derby shirt, it seems unlikely that Washington will add to this with his contract expiring at the end of this season.

A loan move in January could be the perfect advert of his capabilities to both Warne and other managers, while a permanent sale could allow the Rams to recoup some of the money that was spent on him.