Derby County may regret not getting rid of ex-Preston star in January - he's not producing the goods | OneFootball

Derby should have potentially got rid of Tom Barkhuizen in the mid-season transfer window

Derby County are suffering at the bottom of the Championship, but one man who has not been fully afforded the opportunity to change their fortunes is Tom Barkhuizen.

In 2025, the Rams are still searching for their first win of the season, and despite the seemingly brilliant appointment of John Eustace as their new head coach, their situation remains unchanged.

This mirrors Barkhuizen's own circumstances, having played only 383 minutes of league football this season. Although he was given a rare start against Middlesbrough, just his second of the campaign, he made little impact and was substituted after 65 minutes.

Long gone are the days of the winger being a fixture in the second tier; his current level now seems below that of the Championship, and the club may well be regretting not letting him go in January.

Barkhuizen's lack of game time hasn’t been a recent development at Pride Park; it has been evident to most at the club for some time.

Before the January window, he missed several matches through injury, and when fit, Paul Warne seldom utilised him, offering him only sporadic minutes off the bench.

This led many supporters to believe he would secure a permanent move away in January, with Football League World's Rams fan pundit Shaun Woodward advising him to leave "for the sake of his career".

It came as a surprise, then, that only minimal rumours surfaced, with interest in Barkhuizen believed to have materialised from League One clubs on the final day of the window.

This left no time for a deal to arise, and the 31-year-old is now rooted to Pride Park for the rest of the season.

While his deal does expire in the summer, January provided the Rams with an opportunity to cash-in and take his wages off their payroll.

This now won’t be possible, and although 35% of his Championship minutes have come under Eustace’s management, the head coach is unlikely to have seen enough to justify keeping him in the fold for much longer.

He was ineffective against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon in his first league start since the opening day of the season against Blackburn Rovers - only time will tell as to whether he's kept in the starting 11 against Eustace's former side this coming weekend.

Tom Barkhuizen's Championship years are seemingly over

Prior to his move to Derby in 2022, Barkhuizen was a regular in the Championship for six seasons at Preston North End.

While he was never among the league's top scorers, he was a reliable contributor and could always be found in the starting XI week in, week out at Deepdale.

His two best seasons came in 2017-18 and 2019-20, when the right-winger registered 15 goal contributions in one and 14 in the other.

His final season in 2021-22 was hampered by injuries, and since then, it’s become clear that he no longer appears to be a player of Championship calibre. This has only been reinforced by his lack of impact this year, and come June, he will surely be looking for a move to the tier below.

His record in League One with Derby has not been spectacular, but if he joins a side where he is the main outlet, his output is likely to return to the levels he was producing in the late 2010's.

For now, his focus will be on helping the Rams stay up, and if Eustace gives him more opportunities, Barkhuizen will undoubtedly throw himself into every game, determined to make an impact and prove he still has plenty to offer to his new boss.