Derby County must always envy Aston Villa - Rams missed huge transfer windfall | OneFootball

Derby County missed out on a major windfall when Omari Kellyman slipped through their fingers

Derby County narrowly missed out on a play-off place in their second season back in the Championship.

The Rams avoided relegation by a point in 2025, but rose to within four points of the top six 12 months later.

John Eustace’s side lost on the final day of the campaign to Sheffield United, but even a victory wouldn’t have been enough to overcome the gap to Hull City in sixth.

Derby will be hoping to make a return to the Premier League, with their last top flight campaign coming in 2008.

The club have come a long way since going into administration in 2022, as it has only taken four years to fight at the top end of the second tier.

Paul Warne guided the team to promotion from League One in 2024, and now Eustace has shown he is the man to bring the squad forward long-term.

Derby County missed out on massive Aston Villa windfall

Derby brought through and developed a lot of exciting young talent during their lean years, including the likes of Malcolm Ebiowei, Eiran Cashin and Jason Knight, among others.

While the club were unable to spend at the same level of their rivals as financial issues mounted, the academy proved an important source of talent.

But one youngster slipped through the cracks in Omari Kellyman, and the Rams will be envious of the windfall Aston Villa received as part of his development.

The Derby-born playmaker was member of County's academy system before his switch to Villa Park in 2022.

He had shown a lot of promise at underage level, but hadn’t earned his chance in the first team squad under Wayne Rooney when he signed for the Premier League side.

The youngster was just 16-years-of-age when he left Derby, and he had to wait until August 2023 before he made his senior debut in a Conference League play-off clash against Hibernian.

He made two Premier League appearances that season, as well as featuring a couple of times in the secondary European competition, as he earned valuable experience.

But Kellyman earned the attention of Chelsea before having the chance to cement himself as part of Unai Emery’s first team plans.

The Midlands outfit earned a reported £19 million from his sale, and Derby must have been envious of that kind of windfall.

While the size of the fee was likely influenced by Aston Villa and Chelsea looking to manipulate the profit and sustainability (PSR) rules, it still was indicative of the potential he possesses, which was vindicated throughout a starring on-loan role behind Cardiff City's automatic promotion from League One in the versatile forward's first real consistent bout of senior football.

Even a fraction of that fee is the kind of money that could’ve really helped Derby’s return to promotion contention, and potentially make the difference in the four point gap to Hull this season.

Omari Kellyman has struggled in a chaotic Chelsea system

Kellyman was one of several young players to join Chelsea in this period, but he has struggled to stand out amid the chaos of Stamford Bridge.

The attacker spent 2025/26 on loan with Cardiff City, where he played a crucial role in Brian Barry-Murphy’s side gaining promotion to the Championship.

Featuring on the right flank, in attacking midfield and even playing up top in the absence of star striker Yousef Salech, the 20-year-old contributed 11 goals and two assists from 36 appearances in the third tier, with the Bluebirds coming second in the table.

His development stalled with the move to Chelsea, but the year in Wales offered him some much-needed game time, where he showed what he is capable of.

However, it is increasingly unlikely he will make it with the Blues, and perhaps another permanent move is what he needs to keep his career on track.

Kellyman’s performances in League One certainly showed he is ready to compete in the second tier, so it’s possible a return to Pride Park might be on the cards in the end, even if a return to Cardiff is most likely.

But Derby will still be rueing the consequences of their financial issues at the start of the decade, as they missed out on the opportunity to properly cash in on their talented youngsters.