Birmingham City man labelled "nervous" and "clumsy" amid Derby County loan | OneFootball

The centre-back moved to Derby County on loan this summer

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…

Derby County recently signed Birmingham City defender Dion Sanderson on loan.

The 25-year-old reunited with John Eustace in the process, who he spent time playing under at both Blackburn Rovers and Blues.

The centre-back fell out of favour with Chris Davies, and it was made clear that he had no future with the Second City side, as it was exclusively revealed by Football League World that he was omitted from their pre-season tour.

Life at Pride Park has started in nightmare fashion for Sanderson, featuring during the final stages of Derby’s 3-1 defeat to Stoke City, which saw the Potters strike twice in stoppage time.

He then played a full 90 minutes as the Rams shipped five goals at home to Coventry City, conceding a penalty to cap off a dismal first start for his new club.

Football League World’s Derby County fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, admits that Sanderson has failed to impress but doesn’t want to label their new signing a failure too quickly.

Dion Sanderson assessed after poor opening innings for Derby County

“My first impression was when he came on late in the game against Stoke,” stated Shaun. “And we conceded two goals.

“So, sadly, that first impression wasn’t great and then it has kind of carried on from there.

“We've shipped five goals at home for the first time in I don't know when, I think it's the first time we've ever conceded five at home in the Championship, I might be wrong. But sadly, he's been part of a team that's conceded eight goals in two games, and he's been pretty poor.

“I'm not just going to blame him because Danny Batth’s been equally as bad. I think Zetterström’s looked nervous. The defence haven't had protection in front of them either. When Ebou Adams used to play in front of the back four or five, we looked so much more assured.

“So, I just don't think the protection is there. I thought our full-backs have looked weak as well. Ryan Nyambe looks like he's lost a yard of pace.

“Callum Elder got caught a few times. So, all in all, defensively, we've just been appalling. But unfortunately, Sanderson is going to take a lot of the flak for that because he's come in.

“I think the Stoke game didn't help him because it was 1-1 when he came on and we lost 3-1. So, it kind of got him off to a bad start, and then he's just looked nervous ever since.

“He gave away the penalty against Coventry as well, which was a clumsy trip. He just hasn't looked comfortable. He doesn't look like he knows where to be, but he hasn't been helped out by his teammates either. They've all looked really poor defensively.

“He's not had the best start. I cannot wait for Sondre Langås or Curtis Nelson to come back because we desperately need some quality in there, some experience, which those two will provide.

“It has been a tough start to his Derby career, but it can only get better.”

Dion Sanderson will need to improve quickly to establish himself at Pride Park

A Championship campaign is 46 games long and therefore it isn’t fair to condemn a player after just two outings, given how crucial confidence and momentum can play in optimal performance.

However, Derby County supporters will be hoping for much more from Sanderson in the weeks to come.

With defenders such as Nelson and Langås still to return from injury, the Birmingham loanee must show Eustace and Co. that he is capable of starting for the Rams on a weekly basis.

If not, he could find himself struggling for game time once the aforementioned defenders return to full fitness.

Sanderson has proven himself to be a confident Championship operator in the past with Birmingham City and will want to recapture that form sooner rather than later at Pride Park.