John Eustace has struck fresh Derby County transfer gold - it’s not Sammie Szmodics | OneFootball

There was one January signing for the Rams that stuck out for all the right reasons against Blackburn Rovers.

Derby County had to dig deep to turn things around against Blackburn Rovers, coming from behind to win for the first time in over two years after Hayden Carter’s first-half header for the visitors.

An honourable mention is worth giving to Ben Brereton Diaz for a goal against his former club which understandably drew plenty of attention, and the Chile international arguably produced his best performance in a Rams shirt so far.

Yet as the game wore on, it was a January signing that really took the game by storm - whose price tag already looks like a steal... Derry Murkin.

Why Derby County look to have struck transfer gold with Derry Murkin

In truth, the Rams’ head coach John Eustace may not have been the man to identify left-back Derry Murkin, but performances like Saturday’s against Rovers are exactly what Derby need from their full-backs if they are serious about making a late playoff push.

With two assists to his name at full-time, Murkin grew into the Blackburn match after the break to earn Man of the Match - for a showing that mixed aggression without the ball and real quality when he had it.

It's fair to say it capped an encouraging mini-run from the English-born defender, who has seized his opportunity in the starting XI since Callum Elder's injury. Yes, it's only been two games, but against Hull City he made a whopping 14 defensive contributions, showing he has the ability to be comfortable in both boxes.

Eustace was open post-match about the tactical gamble he took using Patrick Agyemang off the left and Carlton Morris through the middle, which he said depended heavily on Murkin’s willingness to press high and engage Blackburn’s wing-back.

When asked about Murkin by BBC Radio Derby on Murkin's performance, he said, "I thought he grew into the game, first-half, as a lot of the players were, they were a little bit off the press. So, we took a big gamble today, playing Patrick on the left and Carlton up top, and to make that work we had to get Murkin to be able to push up to their wing-back quicker.

"Second-half we stepped right on, and I think the first tackle he [Murkin] won was right up in their half, so, from a tactical point of view it was pleasing that worked."

Derry Murkin could become a real fans favourite at Derby County

There’s no denying that Elder hasn’t been one of Derby’s most consistent players this season - but the athleticism shown by Murkin on the weekend was a cut-above.

His ability to repeatedly get into advanced positions and produce the correct end product is exactly what Derby must’ve hoped they were buying when they paid a reported £1.7m to FC Utrecht.

As mentioned earlier, the deal itself was very much a recruitment-led piece of business rather than one driven by Eustace personally, but the head coach looks to be the major beneficiary as the 26-year-old begins to settle into Championship life.

Social media was full of praise for Murkin after the Blackburn game had finished, with one Rams fan saying he 'couldn't stop thinking' about the left-back's performance.

Another labelled him a 'great find' from the recruitment team, and hopes he stays at the club for 'years to come.'

The ex-Schalke man also received a lot of praise for starting the bounce at full-time, with multiple Derby fans saying he 'gets it' - in terms of the passion to represent the club.

Ultimately, given the fairly modest sum compared to a lot of transfer fees in the Championship nowadays, Derby finding a left-back entering his prime years for just £1.7m is seriously good business.

With Elder's contract set to expire at the end of the season, you could see Murkin playing a lot more in the eleven league games left as well.