Jason Knight.
- Ellie Biggerstaff
- Oct 8, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 17, 2020
Swiftly swiping the ball from highly acclaimed Max Aarons just 35 yards away from Derby's goal, Jason Knight set off on a titillating run, carrying the ball all the way across the pitch, soon being brought down just outside the 18 yard box, meaning he would have run a total of 60 yards (approximately 55 metres) without allowing a single Norwich player to get close before being brought down harshly with a heavy tackle by Lukas Rupp. Winning a free kick, Knight confidently steps away to allow his captain, Wayne Rooney, to step up and score the winning goal that got us our first points of the season on our fourth attempt.
Leaping into the air, punching the air in jubilant fashion - we, the fans, loved this display of passion and maybe rubbing it in Teemu Pukki's face that he skied a penalty. Obviously, we all expect good sportsmanship in the modern game but I think everybody can admit that it is nice to see that our players are not like programmed robots, forcibly suppressing any display of emotion or natural reaction.
The stellar performance put in by Knight raised a number of questions across the fanbase - just how good can he be if he's played in his preferred position?
Joining Derby at the age of 16 after being nurtured by local club, Cabinteely FC in Dublin from the age of four, Knight has blossomed at an incredibly rapid rate, albeit a bit under the radar in comparison to his academy team mate Louie Sibley. Knight has picked up a total of 28 (recorded) caps for Ireland from the u15s to the u21s - he has been consistently selected for the u21s for the last year after making his u21s debut in July of 2019 under now first team manager Stephen Kenny. Being on the bench for that eventful night against Leeds United in the 2018/19 season gave him a taste of what it feels like to be in the team on those special nights under floodlights and has left him with a craving to replicate that success and to take it further with this team. Under Philip Cocu, Knight made his first team debut by coming on in the 87th minute for loanee Kieran Dowell - it is commendable that he impressed under two managers with sparkling playing careers in the space of just months. He gained his first start just a couple of weeks later, at the end of August, in the 1-1 draw with West Brom; he was in and out of the squad here and then, not quite making a huge impact just yet until one of his first few starts in a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in November. After this fixture, he gained a lot more minutes, playing 80+ minutes per game instead of a handful of minutes he often got in the first few months of the season. But his first huge impact came in the final game of the 2019 calendar year, where we beat Charlton 2-1; he bagged both goals and fans across the country applauded him for his determination to get a goal that resulted in him getting a boot to the face and some cuts across his cheekbone. Like I said before, it is not often we see a player like this in the modern game - he is fearless and will fight to the best of his ability to get the best possible outcome for the team.
It is refreshing to see a young player like that in and around our squad.
The official website of Derby describes Knight as 'an energetic and all-action player, Knight combines his ability on the ball with his desire and determination out of possession and those qualities quickly made him become an important member of the squad' - his movement off the ball has been impressive with his subtle aggression and determination to get forwards. While more experienced players may know when to pick their battles on the field, Knight does know which battles to pick, and he picks all of them.
Now onto my favourite topic - statistics! 41 appearances with 7 goals and a single assist, Knight has involved himself in the first team in a huge way since netting his first few goals just before New Years, however his aggression can be managed a bit better, having picked up six yellow cards, all in the Championship. Looking at the games where he played as a midfielder in 2020 (according to Transfermarkt), he has completed an average of 83.7% of his passes, 90% of his tackles are won, 51.2% of his aerial duels are won (don't forget, he's only 5'7"!) as well as averaging 0.5 clearances per game and 1.25 interceptions per game and helping us control the pace of game by winning an average of 2 tackles per game. I know these are very small numbers upon first glance but if you look at statistics of other players, they are on par with others with plenty more experience.
Interestingly enough, Knight is the 11th most valuable player at Derby, according to TransferMarkt again - behind (in order from most valuable) Bielik, Ibe, Lawrence, Waghorn, Jozwiak, Holmes, Rooney, Marriott, Clarke, and Wisdom. Bird is also joint 11th, valued at £1.18m after the market crash during the coronavirus crisis but surely, we would not sell Knight at that measly amount, if we were to sell.
Playing on the wing, Knight has always attempted his best but admittedly, he is an inconsistent performer on the flanks - sometimes it is difficult for him to get stuck in to the game when we're being forced to play narrowly, especially when team-mate Tom Lawrence is given freedom and space by the opposition to play his best craft centrally. Knight has regularly proven that he plays his best game in midfield, but how does he fit in when Bird, Rooney, Bielik and Holmes are all excellent in that position also? Maybe scoring goals from the wing is a bit of a wretched curse for him because now, he has proven he can score goals from the winger position so why would Cocu move him?
Versatility is and always will be a huge thing that managers look at in potential players, and this only adds to Knight's value; personally, I believe he should continue to strive for improvement for his role on the flanks, to continue on the effectiveness of his runs and passes, and to pull the team upfield. Because truthfully, it will always be an uphill battle to grab a starting place in midfield. But that is not impossible, Knight is truly more than capable of carrying out bright performances in midfield but having that versatility will allow him to continue being a first team starter regardless of how Cocu switches around the team, set up the team or maybe in the future, we have another manager and he wants to play a completely different way. Internationally, Knight will also benefit from his own versatility in being available to cover furthermore positions that the international manager would be looking for once big names move on such as fellow Derby academy graduate in Jeff Hendrick (28 years old), James McClean (31), Conor Hourihane (29), James McCarthy (29) and Robbie Brady (28) - the opportunity there is massive for Knight, so to be able to slot into either a winger or a midfield position, he opens up a whole avenue of chances for him to burst onto the senior international stage. However, this does not mean he should just accept it and get on with it - if he truly has got the best potential in midfield, we should delve into just how far that would take us as a team and him as a player.
Maybe he is that missing cog we have struggled to find ever since Craig Bryson's eventual decline.
With 41 first team appearances under his belt at the young age of 19, Knight has got a bright future ahead of him - we can only hope it will be with Derby.
“For myself, I want just goals and assists and to try and get better than last year, give more than last year, play more games - things like that. As a collective, as a team with a club of this stature, we want to get promotion but there is a lot of hard work ahead.” - Knight on his aims for this season
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