Derby County entered the 2017/18 Championship campaign as one of the favourites for promotion after five successive top ten finishes in the second tier.

The Rams endured a turbulent campaign last term but still mustered a ninth place finish in the division, in a campaign which started with Nigel Pearson at the helm and ended with Gary Rowett in charge, while Steve McClaren’s second reign as boss was sandwiched in between.

But in former Birmingham and Burton boss Rowett, the East Midlands outfit have one of the most highly-rated bosses in the Championship, and expectations will be high that he can lead the side to a promotion push this time round.

And that optimism may well have gone up again during the summer following the signings of Andre Wisdom, Curtis Davies, and Tom Huddlestone, although the departures of prized assets Will Hughes and Tom Ince have left the Rams slightly short going forward.

And one man who has also moved away this month is forward Nick Blackman, who has endured a testing time at the iPro Stadium.

The 27-year-old only moved to the club back in 2016 after a three-year spell at Reading, but has since managed just one goal in 30 games for Derby, and has failed to make 17 of their last 18 Championship matchday squads.

And the Englishman has officially secured a loan move to Israeli giants Maccabi Tel Aviv, which could be exactly the move he needs to reignite his flailing career.

Ultimately, for whatever reason, things just haven’t worked out for Blackman at Derby.

He moved there off the back of a stunning run of form at Reading, in which he scored 11 goals in his last 25 games, but hasn’t been able to replicate that form at the iPro Stadium.

In fact, the 27-year-old only managed nine league appearances last term to underline how far down the pecking order he is at the East Midlands outfit (albeit injuries did hinder him), so a move away this summer was almost inevitable.

And a move abroad to Maccabi Tel Aviv could be the fresh start he’s after.

Not many English players take up the opportunity to play abroad anymore, yet the chance to be away from the spotlight and media scrutiny could be hugely beneficial to Blackman, as it could for many others as well.

And it could even be good news for Derby, as Blackman could return a re-energised and reinvigorated player, and one that could help the Rams in whatever league they may be in this time next year.

It remains to be seen whether he does indeed return to Derby, or whether he has played his last game for the club, but he now has an opportunity to kick-start his career once again, and return to the level that convinced the Rams to sign him in the first place.