"We do miss Max Bird" - Derby County fan claim made amid David Ozoh news | OneFootball

We asked our Derby County fan pundit whether they were missing Max Bird following his move to Bristol City

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

FLW's Derby County fan pundit believes that his side are currently missing Max Bird, with the balance not quite right in the Rams' midfield so far this season.

Bird, who came through the ranks at Derby, signed for Bristol City in the January transfer window but remained with the Rams on loan until the end of the 2023/24 campaign, helping them win promotion to the Championship before moving to the West Country.

The 24-year-old was a hugely influential figure for Paul Warne's side, but they moved to replace him in the summer with the additions of David Ozoh on loan from Crystal Palace, Kenzo Goudmijn from AZ Alkmaar, and by signing Ebou Adams on a permanent basis.

However, Bird leaving, coupled with an injury to Ozoh means that Derby haven't been able to get the balance right in midfield thus far this season.

Max Bird, Derby County claim emerges

We asked our Derby County fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, whether the Rams are missing Bird this season, and he said that while they currently are, Ozoh's return to fitness will hopefully resolve the issue.

Speaking to Football League World, Shaun said: "Personally, I liked Max Bird. I thought he brought a lot to our team and I do think that Kenzo will become the Max Bird of our team if we have the balance right around him, but at the moment we’re not quite right in midfield, so we’re not seeing the best of any of them.

“When Ozoh comes back, I think he compliments Adams and Kenzo really well, the three of them will be brilliant and Kenzo will shine, which means we don’t miss Max Bird as much.

“At the moment Kenzo is a bit stuck where he fits in that midfield. Is he a deep-lying midfielder, a ball player or is he box-to-box or supporting the front two? I don’t think he really understands his role, especially away from home.

“At the moment, we do miss Max Bird, but when Ozoh is back fit, we’ll really see the best of Kenzo, and then we’ll forget about Max Bird with all due respect, because I think the guy is brilliant.

“Time will tell, but I’m hoping we won’t miss him.”

It was always going to be hard to replace Max Bird for Derby County

Bird was a hugely influential figure for Derby, and the fact that he made 200 appearances for the club before he turned 24 shows just how important he was for the club.

Losing him to Bristol City was always going to be a blow, and Ozoh's injury hasn't helped either, with the Palace loanee looking to be an excellent signing before injury struck.

Warne will be hoping that when Ozoh returns the midfield balance will be better, and while losing Bird was a huge blow, it hasn't affected them too badly, and they've made a respectable start to the new campaign, sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Bird has performed admirably for Bristol City since completing his switch to Ashton Gate and has been a regular starter for Liam Manning's side. There's perhaps some regret that Bird put pen-to-paper on a deal with the Robins when Derby were in League One, and maybe promotion would have convinced him to stay put.

However, it's done, and while Derby might be missing Bird now, they'll hope that as Goudmijn finds his feet in English football and Ozoh returns to fitness, that his absence won't be felt for too much longer.