Derby County must hope new wonderkid does not repeat Liam Delap saga | OneFootball

The Rams have a new academy star on their hands, but they have a history of losing young aces to Premier League sides in the past.

Derby County said goodbye to Liam Delap six-and-a-half years ago as the striker made his way to Manchester City from the Rams' academy.

Since then, the striker has gone on to become a consistent Premier League striker, firstly with Ipswich Town before securing a transfer to Chelsea in the summer. However, he has found it tough to replicate his form from last season in 2025/26, and he has scored just one goal in the league.

Nonetheless, his roots go back to Derby and the incredible 2018/19 U18 Premier League campaign as the Rams youngsters won the title in the final against Arsenal at Pride Park - although Delap did miss out through injury with Archie Brown the star of the show in May 2019.

While he never featured for the senior team, there is a tremendous sense of pride in the East Midlands at just how well Delap has done since departing the club, but now there is a new star in the academy and supporters will be keeping a keen eye on his progress in the coming years.

Derby County have a new star in teenager Blake Henry

The Rams have had a number of stars come through their academy in recent years, with Owen Eames being John Eustace's newest wonderkid. However, in just a couple of years time, they may have one of the most promising young strikers in the first team.

At 14-years-old, few will have heard of the name Blake Henry, but he is already making great strides at Derby, and he became part of history in the 2025/26 campaign over the weekend as he made his debut in the U18 Premier League, coming on for the final 10 minutes of the Rams' 2-2 draw against Sunderland.

He became the youngest player to feature in the division this season at just 14 years and 59 days old, and only eight players have ever made their debut in the U18 Premier League at a younger age than Henry.

The striker has also been called up to England's U15 side, while he has scored 45 goals across all age groups this season, and he has been training with Derby's U18s and U21s throughout 2025/26. The 14-year-old is going to be a star in the future and Eustace will be looking to add him to sessions in the next year.

Derby have a top forward in the waiting, but there is one problem that they have suffered from before when dealing with a talented young striker, and they will be keen to avoid the situation repeating itself.

Liam Delap was sold for £1m with Derby County missing out on his potential

Delap's talents speak for themselves and there is no doubting his ability at the top of the English game. However, the Rams may feel as though they miss out on getting the credit they deserve, as the fact that they nurtured the 22-year-old has often been forgotten.

He signed for Manchester City for £1m while he was 16, before he left the Premier League giants for Ipswich in the summer of 2024 in a deal that was worth up to £20m.

Then, a year later, he moved to Chelsea for a reported £30m and yet Derby are the ones to have been left behind once again with consolation windfall fees for a player that they never got to saw in their first team.

The Rams will be keen to avoid that happening once again, and getting Henry into the senior team as quickly as possible will ensure that can't happen. However, the threat of bigger clubs will be felt.