Derby County signed Sunderland midfielder Elliot Embleton in a Transfer Deadline Day move on 1st September 2023.
He joined the Rams from the Sky Bet Championship outfit on a season-long loan deal for the 2023/24 campaign.
Embleton, who is a graduate of Sunderland’s Academy, became Derby’s eleventh and final addition to the squad in the summer transfer window.
The central midfielder has gained promotion from League One twice in his career, firstly with Blackpool during a loan spell in 2021 and then Sunderland a year later in 2022.
Durham-born Embleton progressed through Sunderland’s youth ranks and, as well as featuring for the Black Cats’ Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, he was an unused substitute on several occasions in the Premier League in the 2016/17 campaign.
Embleton tasted senior football for the first time during the 2017/18 season in the Championship as a late substitute in Sunderland’s 0-0 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers and he made a further two appearances off the bench before the campaign was out.
He made his first Sunderland start in the EFL Cup against Sheffield Wednesday early in the 2018/19 season before moving on loan to Grimsby Town for the season to gain first team experience in League Two. He played 30 times for the Mariners and scored four goals before returning to his parent club.
Embleton made five appearances in the 2019/20 campaign back at Sunderland and he registered a further 12 appearances in the first half of the 2020/21 season before moving to fellow League One side Blackpool on loan for the second half of the campaign.
He played 21 times for Blackpool and played a key role in their promotion via the Play-Offs by scoring in their Semi-Final Second Leg against Oxford United and starting their Play-Off Final success against Lincoln City at Wembley Stadium.
Embleton kicked on to play a vital role in Sunderland’s promotion to the Championship in the 2021/22 season. He played 47 times and scored nine goals in all competitions and opened the scoring in their 2-0 Play-Off Final victory over Wycombe Wanderers.
He remained a regular face in the Black Cats’ midfield in the 2022/23 season and made 24 appearances in the first half of the season before sustaining a long-term ankle injury in December 2022 which sidelined him for the rest of the campaign.
Embleton returned to the fold at the start of the 2023/24 campaign and was an unused substitute in their 0-0 draw against Coventry City a few days before joining the Rams.
He has arrived at Derby with 143 appearances at senior level in his career, including almost 100 for Sunderland, and scored 17 times.
The midfielder has represented England at youth international level between the Under-17 to Under-20 age groups, earning an impressive haul of almost 50 caps in the process. He was a member of the Young Lions’ 2017 Toulon Tournament winning squad.
