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Will Hughes

blackNwhites

By blackNwhites
in Derby County Forum

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ramsbottom

ramsbottom

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Posted

He come across as a level headed lad so he'll realise the best way for him to develop is to keep playing a good standard of football. He'll get that here, not wasting away in Man U or Arsenal reserves. He'll also know it'll be detrimental to him if he were to go to one of the few clubs who'd take a gamble on him and have him in the match day team/squad such as Wigan, Sunderland etc.

I think we'll keep hold of him until the summer at least. Gives the new Chairman chance to whip all his contacts into a frenzied bidding war...

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ChaddesdenRam

ChaddesdenRam

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I think your missing the point if he stays at our club for 1 or 2 years then he will become a better player. It's not a question of whether he will get to a salary of more than 50,000 that will happen eventually he knows that. Coming back to that job you were on about if the person stayed at the business for a bit longer as a higher position I.e will hughes being one of the best players in the league then he will be better equipped for that move to the other business where the money is and the work is harder. Now the final and most important bit his skills gained will help him keep that job for longer and avoid the sack or demotion etc. Therefore in the long term earning more with a prolonged career. Sitting in the reserves all week will not be a viable option for will. in my opinion.

However if a big sum came in then I would consider asking for him to be loaned back to us fora season as part of the deal.

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Lladz

Lladz

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However if a big sum came in then I would consider asking for him to be loaned back to us fora season as part of the deal.

Absolutely Love this idea. Admitting we have to see him go eventually we could assure ourselves income from him in the future while keeping him playing him for us for a bit longer. The only problem i see with this is that if we achieve promotion with him, there would be no chance of retaining him after, whereas if we havent sold and we go up there is a sliver of hope of him staying.

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needles

needles

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We are Derby County. Not some tin pot piece of ***** club. No need to start wetting ourselves that some Prem outfit might lend him back to us.

Man U aren't going to come in and offer Will 40 games a season yet. When Fergie's ready to bid £25m to make him the new Scholes, then fine if he wants to go, sell. Until then, Will stays and helps get us promoted. He's better playing for us than playing reserve football at Fulham. Once we go up, there's no better place for him than Derby outside of a regular CL qualifier. Simples. Keep him here.

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Martyn

Martyn

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[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20769208]http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/20769208

[size=5]Derby's Will Hughes - the Championship's latest sensation[/size]

If reports are true and Barcelona have compiled a "detailed dossier" on Derby's 17-year-old midfielder Will Hughes then they must have filled a few pages on the back of his recent performance against Leeds.

Hughes was the deserved man of the match after tearing the Yorkshire side to shreds during Derby's 3-1 win in a match played in front of the television cameras earlier this month.

There was his wonderfully disguised threaded pass that led to Conor Sammon putting the Rams in front and a stand-out mazy run with the sort of tight control that hinted at a youth spent playing futsal. Countless times he knitted his team's play together; always finding space, always willing to take possession and shoulder responsibility.

In among the trickery and the attacking flair, what really caught the eye was a surging run back towards his own goal that eventually led to a sliding tackle - and with it the end of a promising Leeds attack.

It is the sort of form that has seen Hughes linked with a host of top-flight clubs and named as the Football League young player of the month for November.

Hughes was presented with his award at Derby's Moor Farm training ground on Thursday morning, his bleach blond hair standing out against the grey December sky.

It was his first award as a professional footballer and comes during a period of astounding progress for the modest and intelligent youngster.

Last season he made two substitute appearances and one start for the first team. So far this season he has started every Derby fixture apart from the away game at Bolton in late August when he came on as a substitute.

There has been no sign of the inconsistency that tends to affect many young players in their breakthrough season and his ability to last the duration of a match has improved throughout the campaign.

"'Just give him the ball', that is what we tell the lads," Derby boss Nigel Clough told BBC Sport. "They have the confidence to give him it all over the pitch.

"People say 'is he really only 17?'. It is like having a senior pro in the team. His composure belies his age and there are not many 17-year-olds in the country playing to the standard that he is; it sets him apart."

Hughes's instantly recognisably hairstyle might hint at a man keen to thrust himself into centre stage, but in conversation with him what stands out is his modesty and willingness to learn.

He loves to watch Spanish football, trying to pick out little bits from the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, in particular their decision-making on the ball.

Ask him to describe his best qualities as a footballer and the answer comes slowly, Hughes eventually opting for his technical and passing ability. Ask him what he can improve and the answer flows - his weaker foot (right), which he is working on after training, the physical aspects of his game, his strength and his speed.

Hughes made his debut for the England Under-21 team in November as a substitute in their fixture against Northern Ireland. In doing so he became the second-youngest player to represent the U-21s after Arsenal's Theo Walcott.

Given that Hughes went into pre-season focused on claiming a regular place on the bench, it is unsurprising that he is still trying to come to terms with the speed of his progression.

"This season has been a whirlwind," said Hughes. "It is weird how fast everything has happened for me, I just could not see that. Over the last 12 months everything has rocketed. I still try to find time to keep in touch with my friends but it is difficult."

Hughes, a former pupil at Repton School , has just passed his driving

test and has private tutoring at the club, studying A-levels in business studies and politics. He is trying to retain a sense of normality off the pitch.

Yet such has been his progress that he is already on his second professional contract - the initial deal he signed when he turned 17 quickly superseded by a new one in October that runs until 2015.

The danger is obvious. Increasingly he is being linked with top Premier League clubs - Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal among others - and Clough is clearly aware of the need to protect his player, to monitor his development and keep him grounded.

"One of the biggest dangers is money," added Clough. "Once you put money into the hands of a 17-year-old, no matter how intelligent and mature they are, there is a chance of it going the wrong way."

Clough has told Hughes that if he can get this season and the next right, if he can keep focused and continue to improve, then money and all the other trappings commensurate with the modern footballer will look after themselves.

But Clough admits that Hughes seems so mature that he sometimes has to remind himself just how young the attacking midfielder is; still technically a minor who is not old enough to legally buy alcohol.

Hughes has a Twitter account , the mini-bio section of which simply

reads 'Happiness is the key'. Why nothing about being a footballer?

"I do not want to put anything about football or seem arrogant. I'm still a 17-year-old lad and I have not done anything yet," he said.

That is not strictly true. In matter of months he has gone from relative obscurity to one of the hottest young properties in the Football League.

On Friday the Derby Academy, where most of his peers still play, breaks up for two weeks. There will be no such chance for Hughes to relax as he excitedly looks forward to his first Christmas as a professional.

He will spend the evening of 25 December in a hotel close to Burnley ahead of their game on Boxing Day against the Clarets. Will he spend the evening reading Barcelona's detailed dossier?

"That is all a bunch of lies, rumours, as are all the stories about me. I get told about them but they just go straight over my head," Hughes added.

[size=5]All about Hughes[/size]

  • Born in Surrey in 1995, he moved to Derbyshire aged two
  • Played for Mickleover Jubilee and joined Derby as a first-year scholar in 2011
  • Made first-team debut for Derby v Peterborough as a 16-year-old on 5 November 2011
  • An attacking midfielder, he has played in every game this season (23), scoring twice
  • Became the second-youngest England Under-21 international when he came on against Northern Ireland on 13 November 2012
  • One of a talented crop of youngsters at Derby, including Mark O'Brien (20), Jeff Hendrick (20) and Mason Bennett (16)

[size=5]What they say about Hughes[/size]

England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce

"Will's technically a very sound player. He rarely gave the ball away in training or in the game he played [against Northern Ireland], which is vitally important at international level. He's progressing really well."

Derby academy director Darren Wassall

"For a 17-year-old to be playing in the first team of a Championship side is very unusual. I bet there are not many 17-year-olds playing at the level Will is week in, week out."

Derby manager Nigel Clough

"To do what he has done at 17-and-a-half just goes to show the potential that he has got. "

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ramsbottom

ramsbottom

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[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20769208]http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/20769208

[size=5]Derby's Will Hughes - the Championship's latest sensation[/size]

Go to the comments section on that article and at the very bottom is this link...

[url=http://exiledrobin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/will-hughes-can-we-believe-hype.html?m=1]http://exiledrobin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/will-hughes-can-we-believe-hype.html?m=1

Very good read...

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Animal is a Ram

Animal is a Ram

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Go to the comments section on that article and at the very bottom is this link...

[url=http://exiledrobin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/will-hughes-can-we-believe-hype.html?m=1]http://exiledrobin.b...e-hype.html?m=1

Very good read...

As for the first comment on that blog:

Will Hughes? He's pants mate. Over-hyped and most of Pride Park want him subbed after the first 10 mins due to his shocking decision making and awful first touch.

Nah, nothing to see here.

Conor Doyle on the other hand...that's where the big boys should be looking. They can have him for £4M. Bargain, that ;o)

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Duracell

Duracell

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Just goes to show how technically crap most English players are that we're raving about him as much as we are. I'm sure most 17 year olds at clubs in Spain, Germany & Italy are equally as good. It's the norm over there. I wonder if we'll ever catch them up???

There are players like him abroad but the fact he can play in England shows he's got adaptability. Some foreign players with as much talent as Hughes go missing in games. There have been a few dross matches full of anti-football this season but Hughes has been one of our best players in every game in a way that Idiakez, Lupoli and Bueno simply never were.

The most promising thing for me with Will Hughes has little to do with Hughes himself or even Derby County - I'm just glad England have proved we have a player like this in our system that is actually getting games. 10 years ago, Hughes might not have got into any team because he would have been told he was too slight and not built for our game, and many would have overlooked him because of his lack of pace.

England has been completely left behind in the past decade. While Spain are producing players like Thiago and Germany are producing players like Ozil, we've been producing players like Jonjo Shelvey (a half-decent player but I find it sad he's even being talked about as the future of Liverpool, let alone England). A few more players like Hughes and we're going to catch up with them again.

But it's not that simple. We play 13 year old kids on full sized pitches and 13 year olds in full-sized goals and we are somehow bemused as to why we can't produce players with vision who can find space or decent goalkeepers.

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