Derby talent can still shine bright but Pride Park exit might now be best course of action: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

footballleagueworld video of the day

In Louie Sibley, Derby County have a very talented young footballer on their hands, and one that could yet hit some serious highs in his career.

The youngster really burst onto the scene a few years ago under Phillip Cocu and then Wayne Rooney, as the Rams turned to a number of their talented kids in order to try and stay afloat in the Sky Bet Championship.

Certainly, Sibley did not look overawed by the prospect of being looked at to try and help the Rams in their cause, with a hat-trick against Millwall proving a particularly early highlight.

Indeed, off of the back of those performances we naturally saw the usual links to a move to the Premier League and such surface - though none of those came to fruition - and that underlined just how highly rated he was.

Louie Sibley's time at Derby

Sibley's time at Derby so far has had plenty of highs, then, but you also cannot escape the fact that some sections of the fan base would like to have seen more from him.

He is a young player and so peaks and troughs are natural, but a quick search of his name on social media reveals a real split of opinion over him.

Some see his performances, for example in the EFL Trophy against Notts County, as evidence that he should be starting more regularly in the league, whilst others suggest that in the league when he has featured he has not done enough, and so Paul Warne is right to be using him a little sparingly this season when he has been available.

Of course, injuries have played their part - that has been the case already this year - but some fans might well have thought he'd have been in the side more than he has been, and others are not so shocked at all.

Sibley is undoubtedly a talented player and one that should still have a bright career in the game, at Derby or elsewhere.

If Warne potentially feels as though there are other options to be starting ahead of him right now, though, perhaps a loan away for the rest of the season from January could be a route to look at.

It would certainly be fascinating seeing how he would fare in different surroundings to the ones he is used to, and it could also be the making of him, though of course there are also no guarantees of such a move working.

Sibley's case, then, is an interesting one. He's a young player and so hardly at a crossroads in his career, but it is clear that there are differing views on him amongst the fans.

Plotting the next steps in his career will be crucial to see just what sort of time in the game he has then.