Derby County would have felt somewhat dejected when the transfer window slammed shut, the Rams not quite able to get a deal over the line for a brand-new striker addition.
Paul Warne was keen on adding Michael Smith to his ranks alongside fellow Sheffield Wednesday attacker Lee Gregory, but neither deal happened with Derby now just focusing on achieving promotion out of League One after an up-and-down window.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing would bag Derby’s only goal of the game at the weekend as Warne’s men brushed aside Charlton Athletic 1-0, the experienced attacker starting as a makeshift striker to help the Rams forget about their transfer woes for now.
This could well work in the short-term, but looking towards what lies ahead in the future, the third-tier promotion candidates could well stumble across their very own Smith in the form of 18-year-old homegrown prospect Dajaune Brown.
Dajaune Brown’s statistics at youth level
Loaned out to Gateshead in January to enable Brown to cut his teeth in senior football, everyone at Pride Park will have their fingers crossed that the Rams teenager can set the world alight in the National League much like he has in the youth set-up at Derby.
Brown has netted 21 goals for both the U18s and U21s from just 35 appearances, leading to Warne occasionally giving the wide-eyed teenager first-team minutes here and there off the back of such goalscoring exploits.
Before relocating to Gateshead in a loan switch that will hopefully be formative for the starlet, Brown had bagged six goals from just nine Premier League 2 starts including finding the back of the net twice against Manchester City U21s.
When thrown into the deep end by Warne against Northampton Town last year, assistant head coach Richie Barker waxed lyrical about the “brilliant” attacker with those at Pride Park expecting Brown to have an extremely bright future.
It’s a tall order for Brown to instantly come in and make a difference for a team sitting pretty near the top of League One currently, but if given time to flourish, the breakout Rams star could well become as crucial as Smith has been in the past for Warne.
Brown becoming the next Smith
Both Smith and Warne would’ve been gutted that no harmonious reunion happened in the window, the veteran Owls striker crucial to the multiple Rotherham sides assembled by Warne that clinched promotion to the Championship.
During Warne’s final promotion season in South Yorkshire, Smith found the back of the net 18 times with the Millers going up automatically as a result.
Derby would have hoped Smith could come in and play that role of a prolific sharpshooter to fire the Rams to automatic promotion in the present, but no such move would ever get over the line.
This could be a blessing in disguise, with the League One side needing to look towards freshening their side up at some point with the number of ageing figures in their lineup.
With James Collins potentially declining soon at 33 years of age – despite bagging 18 goals in all competitions this campaign so far – Derby will hold out hope that Brown can live up to his hype and become a dependable first-teamer when the time is right.
Warne will hope failing to recruit another striker doesn’t come back to bite his Rams side in their short-term aspirations of winning promotion, but the ambitious League One team could well have their next deadly attacker waiting in the wings to make an impact soon in Brown.