Could Derby County Make a Push For the Top 6 in the Championship This Season?

Could Derby County Make a Push For the Top 6 in the Championship This Season?

As the EFL Championship season gets underway this weekend, one team looking to enjoy a more successful season in light of recent years is Derby County.

The Rams will be hoping to replicate their 2018/19 campaign, where they qualified for the play-offs - and a step further to win the final would be the dream.

Ever since then, Derby have been hamstrung with financial issues and were eventually relegated in 2021/22 amidst a 21-point deduction for administrative problems - despite the team almost miraculously surviving having picked up 55 points under Wayne Rooney's management.

Following relegation, the finances have continued to desert the club but on the field, promotion back to the second tier plus a whole array of new faces, many of who are on-loan, have the club hoping for a new dawn.

Recent Performances

It took them two bites at the cherry, but eventually The Rams returned to where they belong.

In the 2022/23 season, a 76-point haul with 21 wins saw them miss out on the play-offs by a single point, which was rectified the next year with a second-place finish that included 28 victories.

It looked as if Derby were set to return to League One and miss out on their chance to return to an established mid-table Championship club.

However, two straight wins and two more draws in the last five fixtures of the 2024/25 season was ultimately good enough to keep them up by one point, holding off late challenges from Luton and Plymouth to displace them.

New Signings

The Rams have made 10 signings this summer, four of which are on loan, and a total of £6m plus an undisclosed fee has been spent.

Carlton Morris arrives having departed Luton Town, where he experienced Premier League football and bagged 11 goals in 38 matches on top of the 42 Championship strikes under his belt; Yet, last season his tally of eight goals in 41 was very underwhelming and a huge reason as to why Luton were destined for the drop.

Rhian Brewster is another solid attacking option, as the former Liverpool Champions League winner is fresh from a 36-game season with Sheffield United in which The Blades made the play-off final.

🐏 Derby County's transfer window so far.

🤝 Patrick Agyemang
🤝 Rhian Brewster
🤝 David Ozoh
🤝 Andreas Weimann
🤝 Danny Batth
🤝 Carlton Morris
🤝 Bobby Clark
🤝 Dion Sanderson
🤝 Owen Beck

Where do you think the Rams will finish this season? 💭 #dcfc #dcfcfans pic.twitter.com/CA08hFiCC2

— Football Park (@thefootballpark) August 6, 2025

Their most recent arrival was once one of Liverpool's most anticipated youngsters, Bobby Clark. The midfielder got five Premier League games for his boyhood club and five more in cup competitions before making a permanent move to RB Salzburg for £10m to work with former Jurgen Klopp assistant Pep Lijnders.

Surely the 25 appearances playing in Salzburg - and mainly the six in the UEFA Champions League group stage - will be sufficient enough to bring useful talent and experience to Derby that can help them progress into a side capable of challenging for a top flight return.

Overall, most Derby fans believe the introduction of the likes of Patrick Agyemang, Owen Beck, David Ozoh, Dion Sanderson and the aforementioned signings possess more quality than names such as Marcus Harness, Harrison Armstrong and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing have taken with them.

New Management

Former player John Eustace remains with the reigns following a season with Blackburn Rovers and previous spells at Birmingham City (before their relegation) and Kidderminster Harriers.

At Blackburn, Eustace achieved his task of steering the club clear of relegation in the 2023/24 season and then left the club halfway through the next year with Rovers sat in a play-off place so he could join relegation-threatened Derby - Blackburn eventually missed out on the play-offs whilst The Rams stayed up.

John Eustace has proven what a terrific manager he is and is finally being backed.

No reason why Derby can’t be a surprise package for the top six this season. #dcfc #efl

pic.twitter.com/Bk0kjbnSZi

— Joe Townsend (@JoesterT) August 5, 2025

Eustace led Derby to an impressive pre-season showing, losing just one of six friendlies.

The standout player from the games was Corey Blackett-Taylor, who's five goals and two assists certainly impressed the manager and will have journalists pondering as to whether Eustace has once again transferred his magic to the players.

After all, this is the same manager that led Birmingham to its highest points tally since 2016 and was then sacked in October of the following campaign for apparent 'culture' reasons - likely a story provided just so they could hire former Derby boss Rooney for the status, who was dismissed after just 15 matches as the club sank to League One.

A push for a top-six finish may be a step too far for Derby this season given that their squad still isn't on the level of other play-off hopefuls such as Leicester, Sheffield United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich, so a mid-table end may be more appropriate.

That being said, Eustace looks to be the perfect candidate to defy the odds and return them back to 2019 standards, given his track record despite his young age that has seen him already over achieve with two clubs in this division.