WILL FISH
Local lad who has come through the ranks and managed to get off the bench late in the win over Wolves on the final day of the last Premier League season. The central defender made more appearances than anybody else (21) for the Under-23s in 2020/21 and, at 18, he is accumulating a lot of experience. A calm influence at the heart of the back four, he has captained the team at various age levels.
ETHAN GALBRAITH
Full Northern Ireland international who turned 20 in May. A neat midfielder who has shown his versatility in the past couple of seasons, coming off the bench to perform at right-back at Pride Park and doing well. In addition to his senior debut in Astana in 2019, he appeared in the only pre-season friendly last year, against Aston Villa, and is believed to have plenty of loan suitors.
JAMES GARNER
After enjoying a superb second half of the season at Nottingham Forest, the 20-year-old started in midfield on Sunday and will have appreciated the responsibility. An old head on young shoulders, he has a good range of passing and is diligent defensively. He also obtained experience at Watford in 2019/20 and will be looking to push on and add to his seven first-team outings for the Reds.
HANNIBAL
Now a fully fledged international after pledging his allegiance to Tunisia, the Denzil Haroun Under-23s Player of the Year made his senior bow at Wolves in May. A silky midfield playmaker who oozes personality when in possession, the ex-Monaco man has worked hard on other aspects of his game. As he only returned to training on Friday, he was a late substitute at Derby but will hope for more minutes as the pre-season progresses.
