Max Bird will say his goodbyes to Derby County in the summer as he joins Bristol City and Paul Warne can replace him by unleashing an academy talent.
The summer transfer window isn’t at the foresight of Paul Warne‘s thinking with Derby County embroiled in a tussle to get promoted to the Championship.
However, the Derby boss will be lining up a replacement for academy graduate Max Bird, regardless of the division they are playing in.
Bristol City completed the permanent signing of Bird in the January transfer window and loaned him back to the League One outfit for the remainder of the campaign.
Although currently sidelined with a calf injury and expected to be out for another week, the 23-year-old has still played an important role in their promotion push, which prompted the Robins to buy him.
Including five goals in seven assists in 31 league appearances, Bird has also created five big chances, made 1.3 key passes and recovered 5.4 balls per game.
While some sections of the fanbase think his performances have dropped off, replacing him with a similar type of player in the transfer window could cost the club a pretty penny.
Stephen Pearce has outlined the clubs’ ambitions of spending money to build a competitive squad – if promotion to the Championship is achieved – however, Derby could save thousands, or potentially, millions by unleashing fellow academy graduate Cruz Allen instead.
Cruz Allen is the perfect Max Bird heir
Only last week the 17-year-old signed a new contract at Pride Park after Manchester United and Chelsea courted him previously.
Allen became the third player from the under-18s academy setup to sign professional terms with the club this season, with striker Dajaune Brown and goalkeeper Jack Thompson also committing their future.
The interest from some of England’s top clubs came as no surprise either, with the attack-minded midfielder scoring five and assisting five in 12 appearances in the under-18s Premier League.
Similar to Bird, who made his debut for the club at the age of 16 in an EFL cup fixture against Barnsley in September 2017, Allen has the potential to skyrocket to stardom as his midfield compatriot did.
Once labelled as “brilliant” for scoring a wonder strike in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United, Allen’s eye for goal and ability to contribute in the final third gives him every chance of breaking into the first team.
After all, there is a clear pathway into the senior with the Rams unearthing several academy graduates, including Bird, Louie Sibley, Eiran Cashin and Liam Thompson.
Those are just players from the current side and to see many of their own will encourage Allen to continue impressing in the underage groups.
The Welsh under-17 star certainly boasts the potential to become the heir of Bird, it’s just whether Warne believes he deserves a chance to show it.
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