Derby County are the ‘nearly men’ of the Sky Bet Championship, and look to be heading for another season of disappointment in 2017.

Steve McClaren’s side are currently 11th in the Championship table, 11 points adrift of sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday, with just 15 fixtures left of the season.

The Rams have appeared in the Play-Offs in two of the last three seasons, losing one final and one semi-final.

McClaren has a number of talented individuals in his squad, including Tom Ince, Darren Bent and Richard Keogh, but has failed to break into a strong looking top-six.

Along with some of their experience, Derby have a number of talented youngsters, including central midfielder Will Hughes.

Hughes broke onto he scene in 2011, and has been a shining light for Derby as they suffered constant disappointment of failure to make it to the Premier League.

Here is a look at TWO more promising Derby youngsters that could be worth serious money in years to come…

Max Lowe

Lowe is an England youth international, who is comfortable playing anywhere along the left-side.

The youngster has broken into Derby’s first-team this season, making nine appearances across all competitions.

Most recently, Lowe featured against Leicester City, where McClaren’s side were defeated 3-1 in an FA Cup Fourth-Round replay.

Marcus Olsson has been preferred a left-back for the majority of this season, but Lowe has shown promise and offers competition on the left edge.

If Lowe can continue to develop, McClaren will have a fine player at his disposal.

Charles Vernam

Vernam left Derby during the January transfer window, linking up with League One side Coventry City on-loan until the end of the season, where he will look to gain some valuable first-team experience.

Upon his arrival, Sky Blues’ boss Russell Slade said: “He has an extremely impressive scoring record at u-23 level.“

The striker has featured for the Derby first-team this season, as a late substitute in the FA Cup Third-Round victory over West Brom.

As a natural goal scorer, Vernam may be given a chance in the Derby first-team next season, particularly with Darren Bent and David Nugent coming toward the twilight years of their careers.

If Vernam can convert his academy goal scoring record into the first-team then Derby will have a valuable player in their ranks.