Scott Carson reveals why he left Derby County for Manchester City | OneFootball

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Football League World

·27 October 2021

Scott Carson reveals why he left Derby County for Manchester City

Article image:Scott Carson reveals why he left Derby County for Manchester City

Manchester City goalkeeper Scott Carson has revealed he departed Derby County and signed for the Premier League giants to train with the ‘best players in the world’ and play under Pep Guardiola, speaking candidly in an interview with the Citizens’ media team.

The shot-stopper, 36, was one of several players who were released on the expiration of their contracts at Pride Park, after spending the last two years of his Derby career plying his trade on temporary spells at the Etihad Stadium after first arriving in the East Midlands from Wigan Athletic in 2015.


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He was a key player for the second-tier side during his opening three-and-a-half seasons with the Rams, before being displaced by Dutchman Kelle Roos in the latter stages of the 2018/19 campaign.

Quiz: Do you know what club these 28 ex-Derby County players are playing at now?

With this, the veteran was sent out on loan to City before re-joining them last year with David Marshall coming in at his parent side.

The writing was on the wall for the 36-year-old on his return to the Championship club in the summer with Marshall and Roos as the two first-choice senior goalkeepers at the club – and was released after spending six years with the Rams – since linking back up with Guardiola’s men on a one-year deal.

Carson has broken his silence on his departure in a recent interview with his current side’s media team, saying: “I’ve loved it from the minute I signed.

“I wouldn’t say I had reservations about coming in at first.

“Obviously, in my head and all through my career, I’ve wanted to play, and coming here, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. And I knew it was going to be very difficult to play any games.

“But it was a decision of, do I get sent with the kids at Derby or do I come and train with the best players in the world and learn from the best manager in the world.”

The Verdict:

The 36-year-old makes it sound as if he had the choice to remain at Pride Park in the summer, something that would have been a particular decision from the second-tier outfit considering their embargo, their limited squad spaces because of these restrictions and the state of their finances.

Then again, the Rams did sign Ryan Allsop as a third senior goalkeeper, an addition that Rooney probably wanted with his style of play but one that was probably the last thing they needed in terms of paying another wage.

In a different situation, Carson may have been a good mentor for some of the club’s academy goalkeepers and with this, it may have been worth extending his contract by an extra year or two in a player-mentoring role.

But their current finances have made that impossible and considering Marshall is now third choice, it just shows you how much of an uphill battle it would have been for Carson to force his way back into the first team in the East Midlands.

Because of this, he probably made the right decision to join City and is no doubt enjoying his time there as he trains with some of the finest players in world football.

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