Rams swoop for Steven Gerrard’s cousin
BOBBY JOINS FROM FIORENTINA AND WILL GO INTO U23S SQUAD
NEW signing Bobby Duncan is hungry to make his mark at Derby County.
The 19-year-old striker has joined the Rams on a free transfer from Fiorentina.
Duncan only joined the Italian club from Liverpool 12 months ago in a reported £1.8m deal.
He has yet to make a senior appearance in his career and will initially join the Rams under-23 squad.
“I am excited to be here, it is the perfect opportunity for me to get back to England and get back to what I do best,” Duncan told RamsTV.
“The manager, the structure of the club, it is a club that brings talent through. It is perfect for me, and the manager is exciting to work under.
“It’s been a roller coaster but I am here and I’m ready to get my head down and start playing. It is good experience what I have had over the past 12 months and 18 months.
“I am hungry, and ready to get my head down and make my way into the squad. I have to do all the right things off the pitch and do all the right things on the pitch as well.
“I can score goals, I am always hungry to score goals, passionate – I just always want to score. I am just a passionate player, I want the team to win, I am a big team player as well.”
Duncan, who is a cousin of former Liverpool and England star Steven Gerrard, has represented England at Under-16, 17, 18 and 19 levels, scoring 14 goals in 31 youth internationals. He was a schoolboy at both Wigan Athletic and Manchester City before he joined Liverpool in the summer of 2018.
He scored more than 30 goals at Academy level in the 2018-19 campaign, when the Reds won the FA Youth Cup, prior to moving to Fiorentina in September 2019.
During his time in Italy he scored four times in 12 games at Academy level.
Rams Academy Director Darren Wassall told the club’s website: “Bobby Duncan is a player with plenty of potential and we are delighted that he has chosen to join
Derby County. Initially, Bobby will join our under-23s squad. Like with any other player in our academy setup, if they perform both in training and in matches then there is a pathway at this club to progress to the first team.”