Derby County have taken a 13-year-old defensive midfielder on a six-week trial and he has already played in a match at Pride Park.

Just two weeks after he was scouted at our trial in Birmingham, Cian Towey was running out for Derby u13’s at their 33,000 capacity stadium in a match against Premier League opponents Stoke City.

Currently three weeks into a six-week-trial, Cian has been a regular at the Moor Farm Training Centre and played 90 minutes in a win over Birmingham City earlier this week.

The club have now broken up for the season but Cian has been given his own summer programme to follow to ensure he returns back to Derby in the best shape possible come pre-season, should he be asked back.

Speaking about the three weeks he’s had with Derby so far, Cian’s Mum, Michelle, described it as an “amazing experience and something he’s thoroughly enjoyed.”

“He really likes Derby, the setup is good and all the staff are really nice,” said Michelle.

“To be able to play his first game for the club at Pride Park was an amazing experience and something he thoroughly enjoyed.

“He was a bit nervous before playing in that game but the UK Football Trial helped him prepare for that and gave him a taste of what the pro environment is like.”

Despite hitting new heights in recent weeks, one area that Cian has struggled in – by his own admission – is his fitness compared to the players already in the academy.

Michelle explained: “We’re finding he’s a bit far away with the fitness. He has the ability, he’s big and strong, but these boys have been training with a pro club for years and have developed the fitness side of their game, so he’s got a little bit of catching up to do there.

“But he’s outside training all the time, he can’t sit still. He’s been out on his bike a lot recently and will work on that a lot over the summer I think.”

Cian, who stands at almost six-foot and towers over others on the pitch, spent the last year at the development centre with Nottingham Forest, but after getting frustrated with the lack of progression he decided to explore other options and came to a UK Football Trial.

It was here that Derby County scout Damian first spotted Cian.

Speaking about what impressed him on the day, Damian claimed it was a “composed manner on the ball and an ability to play in a number of positions” that caught his eye.

He said: “Cian has been training with our u13’s academy team and doing well.

“His size was the first thing that stood out and he quickly showed he had the football specific attributes to go with his physicality.”

Damian added: “I liked his composed manner on the ball and his ability to execute short and long range passes with both feet – I saw a player who I felt could play in a number of positions.

“Cian has shown that he has a good foundation to develop his all round game on.”

As well as the interest from Derby, Cian also received interest from Sheffield Utd and Shrewsbury Town, with the latter inviting him in for a trial in June.

We will continue to monitor Cian’s progress at bring you further updates as we receive them.