Derby County are firmly in contention for a play-off spot this season under John Eustace.

The 46-year-old marked his one-year anniversary in charge of Pride Park in February, and the team has grown by leaps and bounds in that time.

The Rams avoided relegation to League One in their maiden season in the Championship, finishing 19th in the table and one point ahead of the bottom three.

And the team is now vying for a top-six finish, something they haven’t achieved at this level since being led by Frank Lampard in 2018/19.

A hectic summer of transfer activity saw owner David Clowes invest in the first-team squad, giving Eustace his first chance to mold the first-team squad to his liking since replacing Paul Warne in the dugout.

With 11 games remaining, they are presently only six points behind sixth-place Wrexham, implying that they could still be in contention for promotion to the Premier League, 18 years after their previous appearance in the division.

Derby County loses out on Rangers’ transfer pursuit.

Derby County are expected to miss out on acquiring Chris Condy after Rangers and Brighton reached an agreement.

According to the Daily Record, the Seagulls have agreed to terms with the Glasgow giants for the 16-year-old, who will undergo a physical before his potential move.

Derby were connected with the teenager during the January transfer window, but they were unable to secure a deal for him after making an approach to the Scottish club.

A number of clubs, including Fulham, were interested in signing the kid, but he is now set to join the Sussex club ahead of the summer transfer window.

Rangers signed Condy from Hamilton Academical this summer, but his contract will expire at the conclusion of the season because he only consented to a one-year deal.

This has allowed Fabian Hurzeler’s side to step in and negotiate a deal with Rangers to recruit the kid.

The Rams will now lose out on the forward, who has impressed with his goal-scoring abilities at the underage level this season.

Eustace’s side is now seventh in the Championship table, six points below the play-off places.

Derby’s next game is at home against Sheffield Wednesday on March 7 at 3pm.

Chris Condy’s move is a little setback for Derby.

Condy has been outstanding at Rangers’ underage level, scoring more than 20 goals for their academy team this season.

It’s no surprise that so many clubs were interested in signing him, and he might have been a very promising addition at Pride Park.

However, Brighton can provide a path to Premier League football, which is always appealing to a player in Condy’s position.

This is a setback for the Rams, as they may look back on this trade in the future and wonder what could have been, assuming the striker eventually lives up to his potential.