Derby County have taken control of the race for sixth in the Sky Bet Championship, with a huge victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday evening. 

Gary Rowett’s side, who have struggled for the majority of 2018, picked up a huge three points against Cardiff during the week, recording a 3-1 victory at the Pride Park Stadium.

That result has handed Derby control of the race for sixth, with just two fixtures of the season remaining.

A place in the play-offs will give Derby the opportunity to challenge for promotion.

Promotion to the Premier League will still be a big ask, particularly when you consider the calibre of club set to be challenging in May.

With that in mind, we take a look at the possibility of Derby missing out on promotion and Premier League clubs coming to cherry-pick their best talent.

Here at FLW, we identify TWO of Rowett’s squad who could attract Premier League interest in the summer…

Derby’s initial surge towards the play-offs came when Ledley arrived at Pride Park.

The midfielder is far from flashy, but he does the basics so well in midfield and has qualities that mean he would excel in the Premier League.

Some clubs would bite Derby’s arm off to have him within their ranks.

Vydra has been Derby’s star man this season, with his goalscoring record extremely impressive.

You get the feeling that it won’t be too long before the forward gets another chance to crack the Premier League.