Footage emerges of Derby County star Liam Thompson dressed in full kit on night out | OneFootball

Derby County secured promotion back to the Championship on the final day of the League One season.

Paul Warne's side overcame Carlisle United in front of a packed out Pride Park, accumulating their highest points tally for a league season in the process to secure a return to the division they were relegated from two years ago.

Upon Ben Toner's final whistle, supporters burst onto the pitch to embrace the players after a turbulent few years off the pitch, with the celebrations lasting until the early hours not just for the fans, but the players also.

Footage emerges of Liam Thompson emerges following Derby County promotion

Having joined the Rams as a teenager, Liam Thompson burst onto the scene at Pride Park during the 2020/21 season, making his Championship debut in a triumph over Bournemouth.

The midfielder would go on to make 23 appearances in the second tier, but was unable to stop Derby being relegated to League One, and has since made it his mission to ensure a return to the division.

Thompson would go on to play a pivotal role for Paul Warne's side this term, making 24 league appearances and was one of very few who were part of the squad that experienced that relegation two years ago, and has seemingly made up for that as his celebrations in the city surfaced on social media.

After securing automatic promotion, Thompson descended to the Derby nightlife, and was seen enjoying his evening in a full club tracksuit and his winners medal around his neck with supporters.

In the footage, the midfielder is seen saying: "tastes like promotion", when a fan shouts promotion towards him, sparking cheers from those around him.

It is likely that Rams fans the following morning would have woken with sore heads, and Thompson may have been joining them along with the rest of the Derby squad.

Liam Thompson awaits Derby County future

It was revealed last month that Warne insisted that contracts for those whose deals are up at the end of the season would not be visited until the end of the campaign, with full focus on maintaining their push for the Championship.

Now that has been achieved, talks will be held with the hierarchy to discuss the future of 12 players on their books who will see their deals expire, while they will also lose Max Bird, who agreed to join Bristol City in the January window.

Upon the takeover by David Clowes, the 22-year-old signed a new deal until the end of the 2023/24 season.

He will know what his future will be at Pride Park in the coming weeks, and it seems likely that he will be offered a new deal having previously played in the second tier, albeit under very different circumstances.

Thompson is one of the younger members of the squad, and the priority for the Rams this season is bringing the average age of their side down, having boasted the oldest team in the division last term.

Still only in the infancy of his career, and with Bird leaving the club in the summer, it offers Thompson the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular starting place in the first-team, and will be hopeful of adding another promotion to his CV in the years to come.