Derby County signing can make Nottingham Forest fans feel uneasy if he lights up Pride Park | OneFootball

Ben Brereton-Diaz had a spell with Forest earlier in his career but is now on loan with Derby, and he could write a new chapter in Rams folklore.

Derby County have signed a player who started his senior career at Nottingham Forest, and he could write himself into Rams folklore this season.

Following an underwhelming start to the 2025-26 season, Derby County were active in the transfer market until the end of deadline day.

And of all the signings that have come into the club over the course of the summer, one stood out above the others for his affiliation with their bitterest rivals.

Ben Brereton-Diaz started his senior professional career at The City Ground, making his senior debut for Nottingham Forest in 2017.

More than eight years on, he is now a Derby player, after having joined the club on a season-long loan from Sheffield United, and this gives the striker an opportunity to write himself into Rams folklore while removing any lingering affection that Forest fans may have held for him.

Ben Brereton-Diaz hasn't been able to settle since leaving Blackburn in 2023

Since leaving Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2023, Ben Brereton-Diaz has had a difficult time of things.

Injuries and a lack of form have hampered him. Moving to Spain to play for Villareal didn't work out for him, and he returned to England having played for them 20 times without scoring once.

When he returned to England it was with Sheffield United, and six goals in 14 games on loan for the Blades was enough to persuade Southampton to pay £7 million for him in July 2024, But Southampton endured an atrocious start to their Premier League season, and Brereton-Diaz was one of a number of Saints players sent to train with the Under-21s before being sent out on loan to Bramall Lane again during the January 2025 transfer window.

His second spell with Sheffield United wasn't as successful as his first, with four goals from 17 appearances throughout the second half of last season, and there had been speculation over the summer over what he would do next, upon his return to St Mary's. The ultimate answer to that question turned out to be a move to Pride Park to join John Eustace and Derby County.

Ben Brereton-Diaz could rewrite the script of his career at Pride Park

Moving to Pride Park may have sparked some conflicting emotions in Brereton-Diaz. On the one hand, the move to Derby is an opportunity to get his career back on track after two seasons which have yielded just ten goals between them. He's played for three clubs over that time, and two of them couldn't get a single goal out of him.

But on the other, this is a player with a strong connection to Forest. Brereton-Diaz started his career in the academy system at Manchester United, before moving on to Stoke and then arriving at The City Ground in 2015, He made his senior debut for Forest in January 2017 and went on to make 57 appearances for them in all competitions before being sold to Blackburn Rovers for £4 million in August 2018.

There are plenty of people who've played for or managed both Derby and Nottingham Forest. Brian Clough, arguably the most famous and important person in the history of both clubs, did so, while his assistant Peter Taylor had a spell as the Derby manager too.

And while Ben Brereton-Diaz will not rise to the legendary levels achieved by these two, it's perfectly possible that he could write himself into folklore at Pride Park. Derby County had a difficult return to the Championship last season, only just avoiding relegation, and they haven't finished above 19th in the Championship since 2020. The space is there for a player to arrive at the club and fire them up the table.

He's had a difficult three seasons, but a clean slate at a new club may do him a world of good. Nottingham Forest supporters may wish to write him out of their memory banks, but at 26 years of age, Ben Brereton-Diaz has an opportunity to restart at Pride Park and see if he can write himself into their history books as well.