"Everything we wanted Kenzo Goudmijn to be" - Everton man lauded for "brilliant" Derby County performance | OneFootball

The Everton youngster joined the Rams on deadline day, and after a quiet start, he made a huge impression on Saturday.

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...

Derby County moved off the bottom of the Championship table on Saturday afternoon, as they won for the first time in 2025 at home to Blackburn Rovers.

The Rams hit the visitors early, with the ever-dependable Craig Forsyth opening the scoring inside the first three minutes before captain Ebou Adams doubled their lead just moments later.

Makhtar Gueye pulled one back for Rovers just before half-time, however, they were unable to create any clear-cut chances after the break, handing John Eustace his first win as the head coach of the East Midlands outfit.

Derby are now just four points off safety following defeats for both Cardiff City and Stoke City, and the visit of Frank Lampard's Coventry City awaits them on Tuesday evening. However, the Sky Blues will have to be wary of a new star in black-and-white.

Verdict made on Harrison Armstrong after stellar Blackburn performance

Harrison Armstrong has had a quiet start to life at Pride Park, but he was handed his first home start by Eustace on Saturday and he was excellent next to Adams, helping to bridge the play between the defence and attack.

David Ozoh's season-ending injury left a huge hole in the middle of the park, but the 19-year-old was not missed against Blackburn as the Everton loanee put in a player of the match performance to help guide his team to three points.

Football League World has asked their Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, if he believes Armstrong can be the replacement that the Rams need in midfield after his impressive showing.

He told FLW: "Harrison Armstrong definitely deserved his man of the match award on Saturday, he was brilliant. He was really, really composed on the ball, he had a great eye for a pass, he played well above his years, he looked really calm out there and just really knitted the play together.

"He was everything we wanted Kenzo Goudmijn to be and for someone so young to come in for such a pressurised game, he really stepped up and he helped the team to a massive three points.

"Is he the replacement for David Ozoh? I'm not sure. I still think there's a spot in the team for an Ozoh-type player, because Armstrong is a very different player to Ozoh. I think Armstrong's not as powerful. He's not going to run with the ball like Ozoh does, but I think he's a better footballer."

Shaun continued: "I think he's intelligent. He can pass the ball long, he can keep us ticking over, and I think his game management is better than Ozoh’s. They’re very different players, but to have Armstrong firing in there is definitely going to help the midfield massively.

"It takes a lot of the pressure off of Ebou Adams, who's trying to do three or four different roles there and I think what we saw on Saturday was Armstrong knitting the play together. It means that Adams doesn’t have to be all over the pitch and he can actually just stick to a position and let Armstrong dictate the play a bit more.

"I think both of them worked together really well and hopefully we'll see more of that on Tuesday. So, it was an excellent game for Armstrong. He definitely deserves the man of the match and I think if he can keep that kind of level of performance up, we've got a really good chance of staying up."

Armstrong has to keep performing

Injuries have struck Derby on far too many occasions this season, and Eustace is running out of options all over the pitch, with just about every department affected in one way or another.

Jeff Hendrick was brought in at the end of last week to provide more cover in midfield, and this does allow the Rams a different option if needed. Nevertheless, Armstrong can be the difference between survival and relegation as it already looks as though he has formed a solid partnership with Adams.

Not much was known about the 18-year-old on his arrival from Everton, and there were some doubts cast, but he has already proven just what he can bring to this Derby team in the remaining couple of months of the season and this quick start will only help ease any fears that supporters may have had.

Goals and assists will be needed, but these will come in time and if Armstrong continues at this rate, then Eustace may just be able to complete the great escape.