Derby County’s Craig Forsyth recently named Crystal Palace midfielder Will Hughes as the best player he’s ever played alongside.
The experienced defender played with Hughes at Pride Park for five seasons having joined the club in 2013 from Watford.
He has since gone on to rack up more than 250 appearances for the team and played alongside current boss Wayne Rooney when he ended his playing days with the Rams.
Asked on the latest episode of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast to name the best player that he has played with during his career, Forsyth said: "I’d probably say Will Hughes.
"I think when I came in on loan he was 16 or 17 or something like that and he was very highly talked about and since then he’s gone on to have a good career."
Hughes joined Derby as a first-year academy scholar and played a total of 187 games for them across six seasons before leaving to join Watford in 2017.
After four seasons with the Hornets, the first three of which were spent in the Premier League, Hughes then arrived in south London at Crystal Palace last summer.
Seeing his former club’s financial struggles have not been easy, with Derby currently in administration and at risk of going under if they cannot find a buyer for the club.
Speaking ahead of Palace’s FA Cup tie with Hartlepool, Hughes said: “It’s not been nice, and I don’t think it’s been nice for football fans in general to see it.
“If you take rivalry aside, you wouldn’t wish it on your worst rival because that’s part of football, and that’s what fans love.
“You want to see your rivals struggle in terms of league position and losing games, but never to cease to exist. I have seen a real sense of the football community come together in support of Derby. Hopefully, they can get out of this trouble that they’re in.”
