Alongside Aguero and Kane - Derby County should be thankful for what they've got: View | OneFootball

Derby County striker James Collins has been in prolific form for the Rams this season and, perhaps unbeknownst to many, has passed a very significant milestone.

The Irish international recently passed the 200 domestic goals milestone since making his competitive debut in 2009/10, putting him alongside some real legends of the domestic game in this country.

His two goals against Barnsley in the middle of November took him to the 200-goal mark, before his brace against Fleetwood Town in the EFL trophy took him to 202 goals, a remarkable achievement for the 33-year-old.

The Irishman is in good company. According to playmakerstats on X, top of the list for most domestic goals since 2009 is Harry Kane with a remarkable 251 goals, with EFL legend Jordan Rhodes in second place with 226 goals to his name. Ex-Manchester City man Sergio Aguero is third with 217 goals, with Collins completing the top four.

At 33, it's unlikely that Collins will ever top Kane's record, but he'll have Sergio Aguero in his sights and will be looking to topple the Argentinian in the next season or two.

James Collins' career history

Born in Coventry, Collins began his career at Aston Villa and came through the academy ranks at Villa Park. After impressing for the club's academy sides, the striker was sent on loan to League Two side Darlington in 2009. Collins scored twice in seven appearances for the Quakers before returning to Villa.

He'd have another loan spell during the 2010/11 campaign, this time joining Burton Albion in League Two. He'd find the back of the net four times in ten games before earning a permanent move in January 2011 to Shrewsbury Town.

Over the next few seasons, Collins would feature for a number of different clubs. He spent the second half of 2010/11 and the 2011/12 campaign at Shrewsbury, the 2012/13 season at Swindon Town, the 2013/14 season in Scotland with Hibernian and before returning to Shrewsbury in 2014.

From there, he'd have a loan spell at Northampton in 2016 before joining Crawley Town for the 2016/17 season. After a season with Crawley, he'd move to Luton Town, with the Hatters a League Two side at the time.

It was at Luton that Collins really found a permanent home, scoring 72 goals across four seasons as the Hatters achieved two consecutive promotions to become a Championship side.

Collins impressed so much for the club that he received a call-up to the Ireland squad, earning 14 caps and scoring twice for the country of his parents.

He rejected an offer to stay at Luton in the summer of 2021 and subsequently signed for Cardiff City. However, things didn't quite go to plan in the Welsh capital, playing just 30 games and scoring three times, meaning he left the club after just one season.

James Collins' form at Derby County

Since joining the Rams in 2022, Collins has proved a popular figure at Pride Park. The striker scored 12 goals in all competitions last season, not an awful return by any means, but he has really come to life this season.

Collins has netted five times in the EFL Trophy to take the Rams through to the round of 16 where they'll face Bradford City.

His form has been impressive in the league too, and has already equalled his tally for last season across all competitions.

At 33, Collins has shown no signs of slowing and Derby supporters will hope this can continue. With a goalscoring record to compete with Kane and Aguero, they're lucky to have him.