Derby County struck gold with triple Premier League transfer - they came so close to glory | OneFootball

Derby County were agonisingly close to the Premier League in 2019, and a sensational trio of loanees helped get them there.

The 2018/19 Championship season provided some of the highest quality seen in the division, with highly-rated youngsters who would go on to make a name for themselves across the European football landscape.

Derby County, under Frank Lampard, were central to this.

After missing out on a return to the Premier League under Gary Rowett the season prior, the Rams would bring in former Chelsea and England icon Frank Lampard as Rowett moved to red-hot promotion favourites, Stoke.

While Derby were ultimately unable to end their second-tier stay under his management, they came remarkably close. Shaping the campaign were two loan arrivals from Chelsea and another impressive capture from Liverpool.

Premier League trio proved excellent for Derby

In Lampard's first match at the helm, it would be Chelsea loanee and Cobham prodigy Mason Mount who would net his first senior goal to level the scores at 1-1, before Tom Lawrence scored a last-gasp winner to earn the Rams three points to open the campaign.

Fikayo Tomori, also of Chelsea, and Harry Wilson of Liverpool were also extremely well thought of during this stage of their careers.

After playing together at Hull City for six months, the duo would combine again in the East Midlands. Wilson himself scored seven goals in 13 games for the Tigers towards the back end of the 2017/18 campaign.

And with Wilson and Mount combining in the final third, Derby were flying under Lampard. The pair were responsible for 31 of Derby's 69 goals that term, and registered 41 goal contributions across all competitions.

At the back, Tomori was a crucial cog under Lampard. The defender went on to make 55 appearances for the club, forming a solid partnership with Richard Keogh, before moving back to Chelsea at the end of the season.

A moment of 'what could have been' for Derby

The all-important play-off final in 2019 was a huge 'what could have been' moment for Derby, with the club missing out on a huge £170 million sum that found itself in Aston Villa's pockets.

Jack Marriott added a late goal for the Rams to halve the 2-0 deficit brought about by John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi's goals; however, Lampard's men succumbed to a 2-1 defeat under the arch.

The three Premier League loanees went on to flourish in the top flight, particularly Mount and Tomori, who went on to thrive under Lampard at Chelsea, while Mount won the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021, and Tomori won the Scudetto with AC Milan in 2022.

Welshman Wilson has proven a valuable player for Fulham, who are now an established Premier League outfit once again.

This all happened while Derby failed to get just a sniff of Premier League football, before dropping into League One as a result of a 21-point deduction in 2022.

The Rams have since regained their place in the second tier and are looking to settle down further under John Eustace. However, supporters will always wonder whether the likes of Mount, Tomori and Wilson could have been Pride Park stars for longer had the result been different at Wembley.