Derby County have been building a much-talked-about reputation of being a club willing to give their up-and-coming youth stars a chance for some time now, before allowing them to blossom into top first-team performers.
The likes of Eiran Cashin, Max Bird and Louie Sibley all had to make their way up the food chain at Pride Park from playing youth football to becoming settled senior players from recent memory, with Bird even winning himself a move to Bristol City off the back of a positive few years in and around the first-team in Derbyshire.
Cashin has also been touted for a major Premier League move away from Paul Warne's men in the past, with Brighton and Hove Albion once eyeing up the promising Irish defender according to reports.
Whilst selling on Cashin down the line will no doubt add significant money to the spending kitty at Pride Park, much like Bird leaving will have made the club some pretty profit, Derby will be laughing at the prospect of one of their forgotten youth gems making them serious cash away from those mentioned.
Omari Kellyman's major move to Chelsea
Many with loose connections to Derby might well have pushed the fact Omari Kellyman was once on the books at Derby to the back of their heads, with the current Aston Villa starlet playing at a youth level for the Rams for ten years, before Villa Park beckoned.
The Derby-born attacking midfielder has only made six first-team appearances for Unai Emery's men since joining in 2022, but has clearly left a lasting impression on the wealthy Chelsea hierarchy, with Kellyman sealing an extraordinary £19m move to Stamford Bridge.
There have been many questioning this excessive price tag being put above Kellyman's head, considering his lack of experience in the Premier League for his current employers, but Chelsea will continue to flex their financial muscles in whatever transfer market is open, with the 18-year-old their next audacious capture.
Nobody would have expected back in Derbyshire that Kellyman would demand such an extortionate fee just two years on from his exit from Pride Park, with the England U20 international sold on before he could fully explode into the men's game for the Rams, alongside the aforementioned Cashin and other well-known Derby youth products.
Kellyman's rise since Derby
Kellyman was very much an unassuming youngster trying to cut his teeth in the senior mix when still on the roster of the Rams, patiently waiting for some first-team opportunities to come his way.
The Villa number 71 would only end up making five appearances for the Derby U18s before Villa swooped in to steal his services, in the midst of Derby's financial troubles, but the teenager's name would have been on the lips of many a Rams supporter when he was gifted a space on the bench by Wayne Rooney, during the ex-Manchester United legend's time in the Pride Park dug-out.
That rare shot in the senior picture would come about in November of 2021, with Kellyman watching on from the bench as Derby beat AFC Bournemouth 3-2, jealous of the likes of Max Knight – who is another off the youth production line at the Rams – performing front and centre, whilst the 18-year-old watched on wide-eyed and eager to make an impression from the sidelines.
Villa's gamble to sign Kellyman for £600k has more than paid off, however, with Emery and Co pocketing a ludicrous £19m now that his move to Chelsea is confirmed, which should trickle down to Derby gaining some considerable cash too, with a reported amount of £4.75m coming the way of the Championship side.
23/24
14
8
0
22/23
21
5
5
21/22 (Villa)
9
1
1
21/22 (Derby)
5
0
0
Scoring eight goals playing for the U21s last season, it wasn't a shock to see the exuberant bright spark be given first-team chances here and there therefore, with Kellyman even featuring in the Europa Conference League under Emery's watchful eye.
Those were only fleeting appearances, however, with the left-footed 18-year-old averaging only 18 minutes of action from those two Premier League chances, and so Chelsea splashing out a huge fee has rightly raised a few eyebrows.
Still, Derby won't really care too much whether their former Academy jewel struggles at Stamford Bridge or ends up thriving with all the pressure on his shoulders, knowing that they will be seeing some significant cash come their way regardless, with Kellyman's £19m worth making him more expensive than the entire combined Rams squad, as per Transfermarkt,
The accumulated worth of the Derby camp stands at a lesser £10m in stark contrast, really showcasing how hefty of a price Chelsea have paid for the unproven teenager.
Derby's injection of cash from Kellyman sale
The reported £4.75m Derby could pocket off-the-back of Kellyman's major move to West London is also more money than what any player in the Rams camp is currently worth, as per Football Transfers, with Cashin the Championship side's most valued asset at a lesser £1.4m according to the site.
Moreover, the predicted cash flow would also not be far off breaking into the top five record departures that have left Pride Park in recent times, with Tom Ince breaking into that last spot in the list below having left for £7.5m.
Player
Sale price/money given to Derby
1. Matej Vydra
£10.3m
2. Jeff Hendrick
£9.9m
3. Seth Johnson
£9.7m
4. Will Hughes
£7.5m
5. Tom Ince
£7.5m
6. Omari Kellyman
£4.75m
Villa are the obvious winners from this sale, however, as Emery and Co eye up some impressive fresh recruits ahead of their Champions League adventure next campaign, putting their newly obtained £19m to good use.
The Rams will also be keen to use the money they're set to receive on adding in new stars to the building ahead of a step-up in quality, knowing those millions could go a long way in getting in experienced Championship players, to help keep the club afloat again in the second-tier.
There might well be some regret on Derby's end that they didn't keep Kellyman around for longer, but with their hands being tied behind their back when he was snapped up by Villa owing to their off-the-field insecurities, they'll willingly take the money they will receive from Kellyman joining Enzo Maresca's men without complaining too much.
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