Derby County have confirmed that Tom Lawrence will captain the club for the 2021/22 Championship campaign.

The 27-year-old, who joined in the summer of 2017, has made 146 appearances for The Rams and has become one of the club's longest-serving players in the process.

In that time, the Welsh international has found the back of the net and has provided a further 20 assists, proving to be a real creative spark from wherever he has been deployed.

Starting his youth career at Everton, Lawrence made the switch to Manchester United at just 8 years old. He progressed through the academy and signed his first professional contract in 2012, before embarking on loan spells at Carlisle United and Yeovil Town.

Upon his return to United, he was handed his first-team debut by Ryan Giggs and played 20 minutes of the club's 3-1 win over Hull.

Now, Lawrence has been trusted with this responsibility by Wayne Rooney and will lead The Rams out when Huddersfield visit for the opening game of the season in just under four weeks' time.

Taking to Instagram to show his appreciation for his new role, Lawrence said: "It’s an honour to be named captain of this fantastic football club. Not everything has been smooth sailing since I arrived 4 years ago but from the bad times, to the good times, the fans have stuck with me all the way and I’ve learnt a lot about myself." He said. 

"The manager has put his trust in me to lead the lads in the best way I possibly can and I’ll do my very best to help this team have a positive season and having the fans back in the stadium will already give us a massive boost going into the season 🐏 There will be ups and downs like any season, but it’s how we react to those tough times which will define us, the players , the manager , the staff and all derby county fans, by sticking together as one. 🖤🤍 🐏 🐏 TL"

The verdict

Tom Lawrence has been a bright spark in a couple of bleak years from a Derby perspective and he very much deserves this opportunity.

His ability has never been in question, but it is a new challenge for him and a chance to develop into a leader during a time that the club needs that kind of control.

Being one of the more senior players in the squad now, and the fact that he is one of Derby's longest-serving players means it is no real surprise to see him captain the squad.

There are leaders amongst the squad who are currently training, but the likes of Phil Jagielka, Richard Stearman, and Curtis Davies, are not contracted to the club.