'Honest' Derby County transfer exit touted ahead of summer window - "It's unlikely he'll make it" | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit can't see a return to the Pride Park fold for Dajaune Brown

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…

The transformation of Derby County over the last 12 months has been rather exciting, but ultimately, it's meant that some players have fallen by the wayside.

Last season, the Rams were freshly promoted back into the Championship, and the main focus was to remain in the division. This year, though, their ambitions have known no bounds, and the backing of John Eustace on the field has led to a side ready to challenge for the play-offs.

On the flip side of that, young and upcoming talents who had featured in bursts last season when the quality of the squad wasn't as high have had their opportunities limited throughout the ongoing campaign.

Although when one door closes, another opens, as some say, and for Dajaune Brown, going out on loan to prove himself in League One with the view of returning to the fold at Pride Park was a great opportunity in theory. But in practice, it's been anything but.

The 20-year-old Derby academy graduate has struggled to stamp his claim down for a starting spot in the worst team in the third tier in Port Vale, and despite goalscoring ventures in the EFL Trophy, is yet to net in league action this season.

Dajaune Brown may have no Derby County future after lacklustre Port Vale stint

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Shaun Woodward, FLW's Derby fan pundit, feels that the poor campaign Brown has had on loan at Port Vale, plus the way the Rams squad has advanced in quality in his absence, will lead to the 20-year-old finding a new club in the coming months.

"I don't want to write a player off who is only just 20 years old, but if we were being totally honest, he's gone to League One, barely played and not scored," Shaun told FLW.

"It's not a good look for him to then return to a Championship club that's looking to move forward. We're a very different team now from the one we were last year, and our squad is filled with talented attacking players.

"I think it's unlikely that he'll make it at Derby, and I think he'll probably need a drop-down, as Jake Rooney has done."

Woodward likened Brown's situation to centre-back Rooney, who had to settle for a move to National League side Boston United in January, after he was sent back to Derby by Barnsley. He'd played for both this season, so he couldn't move to another EFL side.

While the on-loan Port Vale striker remained at Vale Park past the winter window deadline, the fan pundit believes that the 20-year-old should be looking further down the pyramid to regain his confidence before looking to climb back up again.

"He needs to go and get some confidence at a level that suits him a little better, one that he can score goals in, similar to how he did at Gateshead a couple of years ago," Woodward continued.

"He probably needs to find his love for football again, because it can't be great for a young lad to be playing just a few minutes here and there for a side who are struggling.

"It's unlikely that he'll make it at Derby, and he'll probably go down to League Two or the National League to get some game time and start his career from there. I wish him all the very best, but it's not likely it'll be at Derby."

Dajaune Brown's unfortunate situation highlights positive improvements at Derby County

While it's never good to see an academy graduate phased out and not given a real chance at the club they came through at, it highlights the change in standards at Derby over the last 12 months.

Brown was afforded 15 Championship appearances last season, and he made every matchday squad before a hamstring injury took him out from February onwards. This came the year after he'd shown promise on loan in the National League with Gateshead.

Now, Derby are targeting top-end Championship attackers and forwards with top-flight experience to help achieve their goals, rather than relying on youngsters who may not be quite ready for the intensity of the second tier.

At 20-years-old, there's still plenty of potential in Brown, and nothing is stopping him from establishing himself in the Championship in a few years. But for now, this Derby squad has outgrown him, which emphasises the ambition at Pride Park currently.

The Rams have had to work hard to be in this situation, building from the bottom up under David Clowes after administration, where, at the time, they needed youngsters to play just to fulfil fixtures.