What is the latest news with Eiran Cashin’s contract situation at Derby County?

One of the few positives to come out of the difficult situation that Derby County have found themselves in this season has been the opportunities handed to their up-and-coming young talent.

Among those is 20-year-old centre-back Eiran Cashin, who could be set to cap off a fantastic few months by making his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21s during the upcoming international break.

Cashin first made his debut back in December and was used as a substitute up until last month but has since established himself as a mainstay in the side.

The defender started the 1-0 win against Peterborough United in February and has not relinquished his spot in the XI since – featuring in all eight of the Rams’ last Championship games.

He looks as though he has the potential to be a regular fixture in the heart of Derby’s defence for years to come – that’s if he remains at Pride Park beyond the summer.

Cashin is out of contract at the end of the 2021/22 campaign and given how impressively he’s established himself at Championship level, you feel it’s likely that there will be other clubs interested.

Given the faith shown in him by Wayne Rooney and the clear pathway for young players at Derby, you’d imagine he would be keen to remain with the Rams but it may not be as easy as that.

Derby are unlikely to be able to offer Cashin a new contract until a new owner is in place and as Rooney recently highlighted, that could take up to 12 weeks after a preferred bidder is named.

He suggested that sort of timeline would have a “huge” knock-on effect “not just on the squad we haven’t got, but everything else behind the scenes”.

Indeed, if things don’t move along quicker than that then it may be difficult for them to retain the young Irishman.

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