Curtis Nelson

Derby County added plenty of experience to their defence with the signing of centre-back Curtis Nelson in summer 2023.

Nelson became the fourth addition of the summer for the Rams, signing on a two-year deal after his short contract with Championship side Blackpool came to an end.

With over 500 career appearances to his name and well over 100 over those coming in the Championship, Nelson brings leadership, experience, and a winning mentality to the Derby backline.

His career started in the academy at Stoke City in 2002 where he remained until his release in 2008. He was picked up by Plymouth Argyle just two months later and near instantly saw his career begin to take off.

His performances during his first season in the Argyle youth set-up saw him earn rave reviews and in 2010/11, he made his first of what would be 37 first-team appearances in all competitions.

As a 19-year-old he was named captain for Argyle making him the youngest player to wear an armband for the club since 1967.

In 2016 his eight-year stay and 246 appearances with the Green Army came to an end as he joined Oxford United.

He helped the U’s reach Wembley in his first season with the club where they narrowly lost out to Coventry City in the EFL Trophy final and in the second season he was once again handed the armband following the departure of John Lundstram.

In 2019, he made his move up the leagues to join Cardiff City who had recently been relegated from the Premier League.

Nelson quickly cemented himself as a regular starter for the Bluebirds and was a Championship mainstay up until his move to the Rams.

He made 127 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff before signing a short-term deal with Blackpool in January 2023 where he added 18 more Championship appearances to his name before the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign.

Nelson joined the Rams in June and quickly established himself as a leader in the dressing room and on the field.

The centre-back played every minute of every fixture for the Rams in Sky Bet League One across 2023/24 and was a vital cog in a defence that kept 22 clean-sheets in the division and gained automatic promotion to the Championship.

His performances didn't go unnoticed during his debut campaign as he was named Jack Stamps Player of the Season by the fans along with Players' Player of the Season by his peers.