Derby County will have been relieved that the final day in League One was very straightforward against Carlisle United in the end, confidently beating the Cumbrians 2-0 to seal second spot in the division and promotion back up to the Championship.

Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United would ultimately fall short behind the Rams in the hunt for that final coveted automatic promotion spot, with Max Bird and James Collins getting in on the goalscoring act to be the heroes on the day at Pride Park for Paul Warne's men.

The worry will be now, immediately after the ecstasy of winning promotion, that Derby will be raided for a number of their main stars with Bird already on his way to Bristol City in the summer.

Eiran Cashin will be the name that will be floated about as a main target for a number of clubs from the Rams, who will fend off any suitors coming their way unless a very attractive offer is put on the table.

Eiran Cashin's rise at Derby

Derby will have been proud already with their achievement to return to the Championship after a couple of seasons in the League One wilderness, but even more proud to have a number of homegrown talents in their ranks to help pull off the success story.

Alongside Cashin, Louie Sibley and Bird have risen through the ranks from playing in the youth set-up to being dependable first-team faces capable of getting Derby back to the promised land of the second-tier.

The 22-year-old centre-back has been top drawer the entire promotion-winning campaign for Warne's Rams, only missing two League One games the entire gruelling season and forming a tight-knit partnership with Sonny Bradley and Curtis Nelson at the back.

That trio combined have been formidable, barely putting a foot wrong when called into action, with the 37 goals leaked by Derby overall coming in as the division's meanest defence after all 46 games were up.

This promotion so early into his career resume will be even sweeter for the Irishman considering he was first cutting his teeth for Derby when the very future of the club looked up in the air, sticking by the Rams to then drink in this promotion success with the club back on the map after turbulent times had threatened the club's existence.

1. GK – Ryan Allsop

2. RB – Nathan Byrne

3. CB – Curtis Davies

4. CB – Eiran Cashin

5. LB – Craig Forsyth

6. CM – Max Bird

7. CM – Krystian Bielik

8. RW – Festy Ebosele

9. CAM – Jason Knight

10. LW – Tom Lawrence

11. ST – Luke Plange

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Cashin would have to remain patient for first-team chances during his first full season playing in the men's team however, only given his first start during the 2021/22 term- which saw Derby fall to League One under Wayne Rooney's management – in February against fellow relegated side Peterborough.

Coming away from the game with a clean sheet and a first 90 minutes under his belt, the 22-year-old is now a very accomplished head on young shoulders with 122 Rams appearances amassed in total since this solid debut match at Pride Park.

Described as "outstanding" after coming away from that first real taste of Championship football unscathed by then Rams boss Rooney, there's no doubt that Warne will also wax lyrical in a similar vein to this when assessing how crucial the 22-year-old has been in Derby steadily going about their business in the third tier.

The concern will now be if they can keep a firm grip on Cashin, with Bird leaving Derbyshire now for Ashton Gate and also another transfer deal in the past saw fellow homegrown gem in Jason Knight leave for pastures new.

The highly praised defender could skip the second tier entirely for a move all the way up to either Brighton and Hove Albion or West Ham United according to previous rumours, with the Rams wanting a substantial offer to even think about giving up one of their major assets to any Premier League suitors.

Eiran Cashin's transfer value in 2024

Cashin's transfer value has been bumped up all the way to a hefty £1.5m according to Football Transfers now, which means he is worth double that of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who has starred up top this season in his own right for Derby to help make the feat of promotion achievable.

The former Cardiff City attacker finished the campaign with an astounding 27 goal contributions in total for Warne's promotion-winning Rams, yet sees his value come in at a lesser £769k as a talent ten years older than Cashin.

This strike from the electric Derby number 11 against Cambridge United the match before the memorable home showdown with Carlisle all but sealed their return to the division above, with Warne putting together a combined side of experienced professionals with top talents for the future next to them expertly.

Derby have been expecting Cashin's exit for quite a while now, with the smart decision to gift the Irish defender a new contract in February done to stop talk surrounding the 22-year-old's future potentially distracting a promotion push.

This new deal will also mean the Rams aren't victim to a higher-up party bidding low for Cashin knowing that Warne's men will want to sell so they don't lose their star asset for nothing, with an offer far higher than the £1.7m valuation stated potentially being needed for the new Championship side to consider parting ways.

Cashin could well just want to continue growing and excelling in Derbyshire instead of clamouring for a major move away, looking at how Ipswich Town have traversed the step-up with swagger and wanting his Rams team to feel inspired in the process.

Warne will just want Derby to acclimatise to their new surroundings in a non-flashy manner initially, aiming to stay put in the division that once saw the club nearly get swallowed whole due to financial mismanagement.

The celebrations won't quite die down just yet, however, with everyone associated to Derby savouring the joy of a promotion success before considering what the immediate future looks like for Cashin and Co.