Derby County let striker leave in 2023 - he's already scored two hat-tricks in 2026/27 | OneFootball

Bartosz Cybulski is making a real name for himself in the National League North, three years after he was released by Derby County

It's not been a brilliant start to the Championship campaign by Derby County, who find themselves inside the relegation zone after six games.

The Rams came into the new season with momentum from 2025/26, a campaign which saw them actually occupy a place in the top six on the final day before they eventually finished eighth.

However, a tumultuous summer combined with some key injuries, especially at the top end of the pitch, has led to some unrest in the stands at Pride Park.

Derby didn't look too threatening against 10 men for an hour on Wednesday night against West Brom, while they failed to register a shot on target in 3-0 defeats against West Ham and Swansea City.

They're crying out for some attacking quality, and while a striker playing in the National League North for Spalding United wouldn't be anyone's first choice at Derby, former Rams academy prospect Bartosz Cybulski is beginning to make a name for himself - years after leaving the club.

Bartosz Cybulski's time in the Derby County academy

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23-year-old Polish frontman Cybulski cut his teeth in the Derby academy and actually made a few first-team appearances for the Rams in the early 2020s, too.

As an academy forward, the towering six-foot-five talisman was more prolific in the under-18s than he was in the 21s. He netted eight and assisted five in the 2020/21 U18 Premier League and then scored four in 18 in PL2 the year after.

During that 2020/21 campaign, Cybulski made his senior Derby debut in an FA Cup third-round loss to Chorley. Due to a COVID-19 outbreak, the entire senior squad was forced to isolate, meaning that 14 players, including the striker, made their debuts, and the average age of the starting eleven was 19.

Cybulski would make four league appearances for the club during their administration campaign in 2021/22, even starting a game against Bristol City in April, and then made his final two senior appearances for the club in the EFL Trophy the following campaign.

Derby County released Bartosz Cybulski in 2023 and he found his way into non-league

At the end of the 2022/23 campaign, the now Paul Warne-led Derby side opted not to renew Cybulski's contract, leaving him a free agent.

During his time with the Rams, the Polish forward gained senior experience out on loan in the National League system. He made 18 appearances across two loan spells with Solihull Moors in Step 1 and AFC Fylde in Step 2 during that 2022/23 term.

So, after he left Pride Park, he found his way back to non-league, signing for full-time outfit King's Lynn Town.

After signing for the Linnets, he admitted that: "It has been a rough couple of months for me personally, but to finally have a team come in for me is a privilege. I'd love to help get the team out of this league and into the National League."

Cybulski made 42 league appearances for King's Lynn in just over a year, scoring eight goals.

Bartosz Cybulski has exploded into life at Spalding United

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Cybulski signed a two-year deal initially at The Walks, but found himself on the move one month into his second season, signing for ambitious Step 3 side Spalding United, plying their trade in the Southern Premier Central division.

The former Derby academy graduate wasted no time in showcasing why he'd never played below Step 2 level before, scoring 22 times to help the Tulips secure promotion at the second time of asking via the play-offs.

Now, back in National League North, the 23-year-old has momentum and a feel for what it's like to find the back of the net, and he's more than capitalised on that. Spalding are sitting in a play-off spot after eight games, and Cybulski has eight goals.

He's also taken home two match balls, too, after netting all three goals in 3-1 wins over Worksop Town and Spennymoor Town. Unsurprisingly, he's leading the way in the Golden Boot race for the division.

Derby County should feel some pride in Bartosz Cybulski's progression — an EFL return could be on the cards

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It's always good to see a former academy prospect kick on, wherever they are, and in Derby's case, seeing Cybulski tearing up the National League North will be a fun sight.

And with the number of sides in League One and League Two who do some shopping in the National League system, Cybulski stands a decent chance of making it back into the EFL if he keeps this up.

Indeed, last season's Golden Boot runner-up in the National League North, Danny Ormerod, was sold to Peterborough United this summer for £600,000.

He may not get to the level that Derby are at, or want to get to in the future, so from that point, the Rams won't be looking at his exploits and feeling they were wrong to let him go, no matter how poor things seem to be in front of goal now.