Exclusive: Don Goodman praises Derby County over Eiran Cashin situation | OneFootball

Don Goodman has spoken exclusively to Football League World about the Rams' decision to sell the defender in January.

Don Goodman has weighed in on Derby County's decision to sell Eiran Cashin to Brighton & Hove Albion in the January transfer window, as the fight for survival in the Championship comes down to its final weeks.

The Rams pocketed an initial £9m for the centre-back in the final days of the winter window, with the Seagulls finally capturing the player that they had first set their sights on ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

It's not quite been the Premier League dream that the 23-year-old would have been promised just yet, and he has found it near-impossible to make his way off the bench during the first couple of months at his new club.

Nevertheless, Derby will know just how much quality he can bring to Brighton when needed, and those involved at his former side will be looking on eagerly in the coming years as he starts to develop into a consistent top-flight defender.

Goodman weighs in on Derby's decision to sell Cashin

The Rams are still stuck in the relegation zone, having been forced to watch on at the weekend as their rivals made their return to the Championship, while their opponents for Wednesday evening, Preston North End, were on FA Cup duty against Aston Villa.

However, John Eustace and his players will be raring to go, having won their last three league matches before the international break - the first victories of the 45-year-old's time in charge at Pride Park.

Hope of survival had been all but lost before those nine points were picked up, but a new mentality has infected the squad, with the defence a key part of that.

Yet, Derby have been forced into this relegation battle without Cashin, and speaking exclusively to Football League World, Don Goodman, has explained whether he believes the Rams are missing the new Brighton ace.

He told FLW: "I'm not so sure that Derby County are missing Eiran Cashin. I think it was a win-win in terms of a deal for both parties.

"I think Derby got some decent money for a very talented young central defender. I think from Derby's perspective, his last game in a Derby shirt was a 2-1 defeat away at Cardiff City on January 25. That meant that Derby had lost six games in a row, and since then they've had a little bit of a resurgence. So it's very hard to categorically say that they're missing him."



Goodman continued: "There is no doubt that he's a talented young defender with huge amounts of potential, and he's at a brilliant football club in Brighton & Hove Albion, where he'll be hoping that next season he'll get an opportunity to play Premier League football with them."

Cashin has been replaced well by Derby

Losing a player with as much quality as Cashin is always going to be difficult. However, the Rams worked quickly to find a replacement for him, first bringing in Matt Clarke from Middlesbrough before spending £4m of the money that was brought in from his sale on Norwegian international Sondre Langas.

The two have fit in perfectly at Derby, while Nat Phillips' importance has continued to increase. Craig Forsyth has rolled back the years on the left of a three-player defence, handing Eustace a huge advantage in the battle to beat the drop.

Cashin was incredible at times in black-and-white, and it was the correct time to move on, but he will have been hoping for more opportunity in his first months as a Premier League player.

Nevertheless, at 23, the future is incredibly bright for the ex-Republic of Ireland U21 international, and next season could be the one where he becomes a key part of Fabian Hürzeler's plans at the AMEX Stadium.