Eiran Cashin must seek assurances as Brighton and West Ham circle | OneFootball

Highlights

Derby County centre-back Eiran Cashin has been attracting plenty of interest in recent months and that isn't a surprise.

First making a name for himself during the 2021/22 campaign when the Rams were battling bravely against the drop in the Championship, he has continued to make a positive impact for the club despite still being young.

At 22, he has plenty of years left to improve and will only develop further if he can continue to play at a senior level.

Making 43 league appearances last term, he has made 18 so far this season, playing in all but one of their League One matches. He missed this game after receiving five yellow cards.

His ability to remain fit has only gone on to make him an even more attractive asset to clubs who are on the prowl for a promising central defender.

And there's a real chance he could leave in the next window or two, with the 22-year-old's contract at Pride Park expiring next summer.

Some would argue that the Rams' decision to only hand him a two-year contract in the summer of 2022 was the wrong one, but they were lucky to get him tied down full stop considering they were in real financial trouble until that summer.

Clubs that have been linked with Eiran Cashin

With teams in higher divisions taking an interest in Cashin, it may be difficult for the Rams to tie him down to a new deal unless they secure promotion at the end of this term.

And even if they do manage to secure a Championship return, they may find it difficult to compete with other clubs for his signature next summer, if he doesn't put pen to paper on extension before then.

TEAMtalk believes six clubs are all in the mix for the centre-back.

Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and West Ham United are the Premier League clubs to have taken an interest in him - and Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is also interested in the 22-year-old.

Clubs in the Championship are also monitoring him, with Birmingham City and Middlesbrough both keen.

Wayne Rooney has worked with Cashin before and may be able to afford him considering the latter has less than a year left on his deal in the East Midlands.

The key demand Eiran Cashin needs to make

At 22, Cashin is young but is at an age where he will be expecting to feature heavily at a senior level.

He's no longer a teenager who won't be expecting to start most weeks - the Irishman is now a reasonably experienced defender who has a decent number of senior games under his belt considering his age.

Not playing regularly in the next few seasons could be detrimental to him - because he has a high amount of potential that risks going to waste unless he's one of the first names on the teamsheet at a club.

Moving to a club at a higher level and playing at this higher level should help him to get better, but he will only benefit from this step up if he's starting most weeks.

With Emanuel Aiwu only on loan at Blues, Cashin could be a starting player alongside Dion Sanderson at St Andrew's.

But his chances of starting at a Premier League team seem slim.

He could potentially win game time in a European competition, but he will want to be firmly involved in the league too.