Darren Wassall: 'Guy's First Deal Can Act As A Catalyst For Future Success'

Darren Wassall believes that Callum Guy’s first professional contract can act as a ‘catalyst’ to achieve more success with Derby County in the future.

Darren Wassall believes that Callum Guy’s first professional contract can act as a ‘catalyst’ to achieve more success with Derby County in the future.

The young midfielder penned an 18-month deal with the Rams last week after impressing for both the Under 21s and Under 18s over the course of this season.

Despite being 18, Guy has been a regular in Lee Glover’s Under 21 squad and also captained Wassall’s Under 18s during their FA Youth Cup campaign earlier this season.

Guy has been with the Club since the age of nine and Wassall, Derby’s Academy Manager, says the midfielder is a ‘classic example’ of the long-term success that the Rams’ Academy is trying to achieve.

He told Rams Player: “He is a classic example of a long-term development plan being fulfilled to its best.

It’s not a short term fix, it’s about honing lads from a young age, like we did with Callum. We get them at the age of eight or nine and then it is about developing them right through the system.

“He is a great success story for everybody involved in the Academy over the years, but the main hard work has come from Callum himself.

“To be as dedicated as he has been is a testament to him and he has been rewarded for that with this deal.

“For us, over the last couple of years, he has been a midfielder. That comes down to the fact that he can deal with the ball really well, he has a lot of energy and his days as a winger mean that he can also chip in with a few goals.

“He is technically very good, but he has got a great desire as well.

“This is just the start and Callum is very level headed to the point where he knows that his next challenge is to go and earn his next contract and continue to make himself a regular in the Under 21s squad and push on to the first team.

“Hopefully this contract can be the catalyst for him to go on and achieve more success at this club.”

The 2014-15 campaign has proven to be a hugely successful one for both the Under 21s and Under 18s since the Club achieved Category One Status last summer.

Like Guy, Wassall insist there is more talent coming through the Derby ranks and is hoping the continued success will see more offered their first professional deal over the coming months.

He added: “We have got some very good young players here at this football club.

“The first year pros, who are already making up the Under 21 squad, have done really well and hopefully we will keep that conveyer belt going.

“The great thing about Callum is that we offered him a contract on the Monday and he brought it back signed and sealed the very next day.

“The paperwork has been completed over the last few weeks and that says a lot about him. He just wants to play football and his mind is focused in the right way.”