Ryan Nyambe

Derby County completed the signing of Namibia international defender Ryan Nyambe in September 2023.

Nyambe joined Derby on a contract until January 2024 which was later extended until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Capped by Namibia on a number of occasions, Nyambe joined Derby with almost 250 appearances to his name in his professional career in English football following spells with both Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic.

The versatile defender joined the Rams as a free agent after leaving Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2023 and bolstered Head Coach Paul Warne’s defensive options.

Nyambe was born in Namibia but moved to England at the age of ten.

He joined Blackburn Rovers’ Academy whilst he was a teenager and progressed through their ranks to earn professional terms in 2015, with his senior bow coming in a EFL Cup encounter against Shrewsbury Town in August of that year.

Nyambe established himself on the first team scene at Ewood Park in the 2016/17 season and made 28 appearances, as well as featuring for Rovers’ Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, and he bagged the club’s Young Player of the Season award despite their relegation to the third tier.

He was again a key player for Rovers in 2017/18 in League One as they gained automatic promotion to return to the Championship at the first time of asking, finishing second behind title-winners Wigan Athletic.

Nyambe remained a regular member of the Blackburn side in the Championship over the course of the next four seasons and he racked up over 200 appearances for the club before departing at the end of his contract in the summer of 2022.

His next destination was Wigan Athletic and he spent the 2022/23 campaign with the Latics in the second tier. Nyambe recorded 33 appearances in total for Wigan before departing at the end of the campaign following the side’s relegation back to League One.

Nyambe has played for Namibia in both the African Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with his debut coming in a friendly against Ghana in June 2019. He went on to feature in the Africa Cup of Nations soon afterwards.

The right-back joined the Rams in September 2013 initially on a short-term deal until January but his impressive performances for the side following his arrival saw him put pen-to-paper on an extension in December.

He made 21 appearances for Derby before suffering a thigh injury in February that would see him ruled out of action until the end of the campaign.