Derby County: Eiran Cashin sends heartfelt message to Louie Sibley | OneFootball

The boyhood Ram is leaving the club after 15 years.

Louie Sibley has left Derby County following the expiration of his deal with the club.

The Rams player is now a free agent.

After securing promotion with his boyhood club - the club that he has been with for most of his life - he has decided that now is the time to move on from Pride Park.

Where his future lies remains to be seen. Rotherham United have been linked with having an interest in him, but what is for sure is that his days of playing for Derby are over.

The club put a message out on their website, confirming that Sibley would be leaving, and said: "Derby County would like to place on record its thanks to Louie for his contribution throughout his time at the club and wish him every success in his future endeavours."

They have had a busy summer window so far, with this being some of the latest news to come out of County headquarters.

On Tuesday, they announced that Kayden Jackson and Jerry Yates had joined the club, and that forward James Collins had extended his stay in Derbyshire.

The same can't be said for Sibley, whose departure has brought out some warming messages from his now ex-teammates.

Eiran Cashin's message to Louie Sibley

The Irish defender has been playing with the 22-year-old since they were both kids. Cashin took to X to express his gratitude to Sibley.

He said: "What a guy.. from being together and making my life hell for over 15 years, gonna miss going into the changing rooms and having to look for all my stuff 😂 shared some unreal moments. I know wherever you go you will smash it bud 👊❤️."

The pair got to celebrate a well-earned promotion together. Cashin looks likely to be with County in their first season back in the Championship. Interest in him from the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion seems to have cooled.

A move to the Seagulls looked to be on in the previous summer transfer window, but they ran out of time to get the deal done.

League One move looks most likely for Sibley

If the wing-back's desire was to play in the Championship, then the most likely option for that was to re-sign with Derby, who did offer him the chance to come up with them to their new home in the second tier.

He's declined that opportunity and, while it may have been a tough choice to make, it may end up being the best option for him.

His number of starts and minutes last season are indicative of a player that's going to be able to make a real impact in the Championship.

Playing at that level, and higher, will surely be part of his ambition, but he first needs to prove himself as a top player in League One before he can do that.

The squad that Rotherham are assembling, if he does opt to take them up on their reported interest, would give him that opportunity.