Patrick Agyemang’s physicality has helped the American forward quickly become one of Derby County’s most important players. It’s also unfortunately led to Agyemang being on the brunt of several defensive challenges this season.
Agyemang has tallied 10 goals in his first season in England, tying Carlton Morris for the most among Rams players this campaign. The former Charlotte FC man has made quite the impact at Pride Park, helping John Eustace’s squad to a current sixth-place spot in the EFL Championship table.
While many players have struggled with adjusting to the grueling schedule and style of the Championship, Agyemang has shined, scoring four goals since the start of 2026. Not only has he scored goals, but Agyemang has also delivered strong hold-up play and won ample fouls on both ends of the pitch.
Eustace knows Agyemang’s importance to the team and hopes he starts getting some protection from the league’s referees after some tough outings.
“He understands this is a very physical league and he’s one of the top performers in the division,” Eustace said in a pre-match press conference Thursday. “I don’t think he gets protected as much as he should from the referees for sure because of his size and the way he plays. I think defenders are getting away with fouling him.
“That’s something that we’ve certainly got to look at, to try and get more protection for him,” Eustace added. “There’s so much more hard work and more development to come, which is the most exciting thing for me.”
Agyemang’s production at Derby County has not only helped the Rams fight to be in the promotion mix, but it’s also kept him on the radar of the U.S. men’s national team. The 25-year-old scored five goals in 10 USMNT caps last year, helping the squad reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.
He is one of four American strikers (Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Haji Wright) to reach double figures during the club season abroad, and will surely be fighting with all of them to be part of the USMNT’s World Cup roster this summer.
Eustace has high praise for Agyemang’s quick adjustment to life at Derby County, hoping he can continue to build off of what he’s delivered so far.
“We’ve got a huge asset at the football club, and he’s got to continue progressing and developing in the way he has done,” Eustace said. “I think we have to remember when we brought him in that we had to wait six weeks because he had a groin operation.
“He then had to virtually do a pre-season, but obviously we didn’t have time to do that properly, so he’s had to play games to get up to speed and up to fitness,” Eustace added. “In the West Brom game when we put him on, he was electric for that 10 minutes I think and set up the goal, so you could see potentially what a top player we’ve got.”
Derby County next travels to Watford on Saturday before visiting Hull City and hosting Blackburn Rovers to close the month.