Derby County confirm player departure | OneFootball

Derby County winger Jordon Ibe has parted company with the Rams by mutual consent, the club have confirmed.

The 25-year-old had a fruitful loan spell with County during the 2014-15 season when contracted to Liverpool, but re-joined the club permanently last summer when his deal with AFC Bournemouth came to an end.

It proved to be a tough time for Ibe though at Pride Park as he made just one appearance in the 2020-21 campaign – that came as a late substitute against Stoke City back in December.

Ibe struggled to prove his fitness after suffering from injuries but he also faced some off the field issues as well as he addressed his struggles with depression back in January.

25 questions about Derby County legends from over the years – Can you score full marks?

The winger tried to work his way back into Wayne Rooney’s plans during the final few months of the season but after suffering a hamstring issue in March, he never saw another minute of game-time.

Now both Ibe and the Rams have agreed to part ways with a year remaining on his contract in the hope that he will be able to get fixed up elsewhere for the 2021-22 campaign and prove his fitness.

The Verdict

It’s clear to see that there is a talent in Ibe somewhere – he’s just lost his way somewhat through no fault of his own.

After just seven league games for Wycombe as a youngster, Ibe joined Liverpool as a 16-year-old and that’s not always a good thing – he was actually given a lot of chances in his final season with the club in 2015-16 before being sold to Bournemouth and at the Cherries he didn’t quite reach his potential.

There’s issues that Ibe clearly needs to manage but it looked like he was working hard to get back fit before an injury ruled him out for the rest of the season, so there is hope for the 25-year-old that he can get fixed up somewhere ahead of the new campaign.