"He's an absolute man-mountain" - Derby County deal with Crystal Palace lauded | OneFootball

David Ozoh has been excellent since he arrived at Pride Park this summer on loan.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Derby County's midfield had a major overhaul over the summer, with key players from their League One spell leaving the club, while new stars have arrived.

After two seasons of playing in the third tier, it was important that Paul Warne re-shaped his team, starting with those in the middle of the park.

The Rams had perhaps been too lightweight at times in the last couple of years, but still were able to win promotion back to the Championship at the second time of asking.

The introduction of Ebou Adams on loan from Cardiff City helped bulk up the midfield in January, and although he has now rejoined Derby on a permanent deal, it has been the signing of another loanee that has excited the Pride Park faithful.

Crystal Palace have allowed Warne to borrow David Ozoh for the 2024/25 campaign, and the 19-year-old has already had a huge impact on the team.

Ozoh has the potential to become a Premier League great

After being linked with moves to both Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle in the summer, it was the Rams who won the race to sign the defensive midfielder.

Ozoh has already made his Premier League debut for Palace, and has featured 10 times in the top flight altogether in his relatively short career.

But with more experience still needed, it has been at Pride Park where he has already started to excel, much to the delight of FLW's Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, who believes that he has been the club's signing of the summer.

He said: "Ozoh’s still a teenager, but he's an absolute man-mountain. He's quick, he’s tenacious, he's box to box, he can break up the play, and he can dribble with the ball.

"I think he's going to be a superstar hopefully with Derby, but that’s unlikely in the long run. Crystal Palace will realise what a gem they've got there, and I'm sure he'll want to be a real success in the Premier League.

"We’re just lucky that we've got him for a season, and he's been an absolute revelation in his first few games at Derby. He just looks like he's only going to get better as well."

Ozoh's performance against Bristol City epitomised his qualities

Although he has been excellent, at times Ozoh's inexperience has perhaps cost him, and he has been caught out of position.

However, in Derby's final game before the international break, the 19-year-old was incredible from start to finish.

Alongside Adams, he was able to take charge of the match and proved to be a dominant force as the Rams eased past Bristol City.

He was an irresistible force over the weekend, and was rewarded for his defensive work with an excellent goal - once again combining with Adams, before smashing the ball past Max O'Leary to secure all three points for the Rams.

If that performance is anything to go by, then Derby's supporters are in luck, and Ozoh could be the loan player that they fall in love with this season.