Derby County were laughing after Sheffield Wednesday transfer decision - Paul Warne loved it | OneFootball

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing joined the Rams in 2022 as part of the League One rebuild. He was crucial to their promotion back to the Championship in 2024.

In the summer of 2022, Derby County were in desperate need of a complete rebuild. Administration had stripped the club of nearly all of their assets, and David Clowes was operating under a stringent business plan to get a team ready for the new season.

Current Chelsea boss, Liam Rosenior, was in charge of the Rams on an interim basis as he worked alongside the owner of the East Midlands outfit to find free agents that were prepared to play in League One for a club who have spent the majority of their history in the second tier and above.

The likes of Conor Hourihane, James Collins and David McGoldrick were all drafted in to add much-needed experience. Meanwhile, youngsters Eiran Cashin, Max Bird and Jason Knight were prepared to continue their Pride Park story as the veteran duo of Craig Forsyth and Curtis signed new deals in DE24.

However, bringing in wingers with pedigree was always going to be tough on a next-to-nothing budget. Despite this, Derby found a gem after Sheffield Wednesday made a significant transfer decision, much to the delight of Paul Warne, who replaced Rosenior in September 2022.

Derby County benefited from Sheffield Wednesday losing Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

Sheffield Wednesday had planned to keep hold of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing past the end of the 2021/22 campaign, as they looked to bounce back from their play-off semi-final defeat against Sunderland. However, the winger rejected a new contract from the Owls and instead made his way to the Rams.

He put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal at Pride Park, and got to work immediately in black-and-white. The now 33-year-old was influential following Warne's arrival, registering an assist in the ex-Rotherham United boss' first game in charge of Derby.

Mendez-Laing ended the campaign with seven goals and eight assists in 44 league games. The Guatemala international had never played this many games in a single league season, and he was full of confidence, despite the East Midlands side losing to Wednesday on the final day of 2022/23.

This defeat meant that Warne's side missed out on a play-off finish, but they headed into the new season full of confidence and with a squad that had more than enough quality to push for an automatic promotion spot. While the team itself was in a good place, there was arguably nobody more consistent than their number 11 in the 2023/24 season.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was key to Derby County's promotion back to the Championship

The new campaign started slowly for both Derby and Mendez-Laing. However, towards the end of October, their winger started to find form. He scored five goals and picked up two assists in seven games and Warne's side started to drift back into the play-off places.

Throughout the winter, the current MK Dons man became one of the most dangerous operatives in the entirety of League One, and he played a crucial role in pushing his team towards automatic promotion contention, with a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in March proving vital.

Mendez-Laing scored the only goal of the game against Cambridge United away from home in the second to last game of the season, a victory that all but confirmed promotion back to the second tier. Another win against Carlisle United secured their place back in the Championship, with their star man ending the campaign with nine goals and an incredible 16 assists.

He would spend just one more year with Derby, having signed a new long-term deal with the club as they pushed for promotion. He never got up to speed in the second tier, but he was reunited with Warne in the summer of 2025, as he joined MK Dons.

The former Cardiff City starlet is also playing alongside fellow ex-Rams in Curtis Nelson and Kane Wilson at Stadium MK, with Warne pursuing a return to the third-tier in his first full campaign in charge.

Mendez-Laing's playing days are now coming to a close, but it was at Derby - perhaps alongside Cardiff's 2017/18 promotion to the Premier League - where the speedy wide-man enjoyed the best football of his career.