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Derby County return to competitive action on Saturday afternoon, as they make the short trip over to Staffordshire to face Stoke City.
Three months ago, Mark Robins was frustrated with the Potters’ performance against the Rams, as the two sides faced each other at Pride Park in the final game of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
However, both teams have gone through rigorous changes over the course of this summer, with John Eustace making plenty of changes to his team after they avoided relegation against Stoke on that warm May day.
Derby have had a bid rejected for Max Johnston, as they look to add more depth at right-back. Yet, there is one area that Eustace has improved greatly, and with Carlton Morris preparing to make his debut this weekend, he’s talked through his goals for the season.
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Following three years at Luton Town, the striker left Kenilworth Road in favour of a move to the East Midlands this summer and he will be expected to lead the line as Patrick Agyemang recovers from a hernia operation.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash against Stoke, the new Derby striker was asked about his ambitions for 2025/26, and if the Rams are a bigger club than the Hatters. He said: “Yeah, for sure.
“What we did at Luton was incredibly special. You chase your whole career trying to achieve that once but the funny thing about football is, once you’ve done it once it makes you hungrier to do it again.
“So, it’s not one of those things that you do and then that’s it done, I’m 29 now and I’m probably the hungriest and most ambitious that I’ve ever been.”
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Carlton Morris will be vital for John Eustace
While he did not quite have the season he would have hoped for at Luton last time out, Morris has ended each of the last three campaigns as the Hatters’ top scorer – including during their year in the Premier League.
Derby lacked a true threat in the final third in 2024/25, with Jerry Yates often finding himself isolated while playing in the number nine role.
There has been a huge focus on bringing in quality midfielders and strikers to ensure that the Rams have firepower in the final third as they look to climb the Championship table, and Morris will be at the centre of that.
Promotion is still a very distant ambition for Derby, but if they can finish mid-table this season with the help of their new star forward, then they may be able to target the play-offs in the years to come.