Ethan Wassall, the young Derby County central defender, is worth £300,000 in the transfer market according to the Daily Mail “secret scout”.
Wassall, 21, is the son of Darren Wassall who featured for Hereford United in 1987, and played 5 times for the Bulls this season making his debut at Edgeley Park against Stockport County in a 2-2 draw back on 13 October 2018.
According to the scout, Ethan needs more first team experience, saying “In the game I saw, he played right centre back in a three-man backline. A right-footed player, I like the way he stepped forward into space created by his right wing back towards the end of the game.
“His team were pushing for an equaliser and he showed sound passing skills and forceful running, which had not been necessary earlier when he had done a good job defending the right side without being stretched.
“He has a perfect frame for a central defender. When he needed to cover attacks down the other flank, he was always close to his defensive colleague and was aware enough to drag his right wing back into a decent covering position.
“Rarely tested in the air, it was difficult to gauge his heading strength as in this game most opposition crosses from deep came from their left side, so it was the opposite central defender of the three who was examined.
“I thought he communicated well — easy to hear in academy games — and showed maturity for his age. In a strong team, he showed toughness when needed.
“So far he has only played academy football and first team football in the National League North during a brief loan at Hereford. Still only 21, he needs first-team experience soon. His father Darren heads the Derby academy and served his apprenticeship under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest.
“At Derby, he will have instilled good one-on-one defensive principles in his son. Wassall Jnr shows a calm head when defending, sensible passing and a nice balance between playing short, early and with accuracy and looking for a forward ball down the right channel, turning the opposition defence around.
“Several of his academy colleagues look right for the next step, and I’ll be surprised if Frank Lampard does not give them that opportunity if Derby fail to win promotion this season”.
Images: Youtube – HFC & DCFC