Speedster Fuseini set for Rams debut at London Stadium

Move over Farah, The Rams have their very own Mobot to bring to the home of London 2012 this Super Saturday. It turns out, he is rather quick too.

Ghanaian international forward Mohammed Fuseini recorded a top sprint speed of 37.58 km/h against Anderlecht a couple of years ago (for comparison, Anthony Gordon was the fastest player in the 2025-26 Champions League with a top speed of 37.92 km/h).

So, what better place for the Union Saint Gilloise loanee, who Derby signed with an option to buy on deadline day, to make his debut than an athletics stadium?

His new boss John Eustace is excited to see what Fuseini, who is a former Sturm Graz teammate of Rams right back Max Johnston, can do. He said: “He's very direct, he's very quick and he'll certainly give us another dimension to how we want to play.”

Fuseini was chased by Birmingham City throughout the summer, but Eustace says that The Rams’ recruitment team had been tracking him for a while too. He explained: “I think the club have targeted him as one of the players that they wanted to bring in and could excite and he certainly is.

“Over the summer we'd been given footage of a number of really exciting players, so I'd seen him over the summer and he's one of four or five other exciting players that we'd all looked at.”

But what does the data say? Allow me to wheel out the percentiles for one final time this summer.

The data

Operating across the frontline, the 24-year-old played just 582 Belgian Pro League minutes last season in 4 starts and 17 substitute appearances. In that time, he amassed 2.23 xG or 0.34 xG/90 from 16 shots (2.47/90). The per 90 figures put him 86^th and 70^th percentiles respectively when compared to other attacking midfielders/wingers. In terms of chance creation, he created 11 chances and three big chances (1.70/90 and 0.46/90). The per 90 figures here put him in the 61^st and 84^th percentiles, with the obvious caveat about sample size.

So, while there are valid concerns around the underperformance in goals compared to xG, he can be coached to be more clinical. The xG, and chance creation, alongside 5.88 touches in the opposition box per 90 (88^th percentile) show that he gets into the right places to make things happen. Plus, his record of 11 goals and three assists in 2024-25, when he played 44 games and started regularly suggest he might just need regular minutes to build momentum.

If his primary role is to use his pace to stretch the game and create width, this looks a top signing. With a goal and two assists in five games so far this season, hopefully goal contributions can continue to flow.

More potential debutants

Another data-driven signing in Henrik Meister could also make his debut, more on him here. But Derby’s other two new additions are much more familiar faces, and might also feature in London.

David Ozoh’s permanent return is “a statement of intent” according to Eustace, who says that the midfielder “has got better and better” as “he's really grown in stature and presence.” And Eustace is hopeful that “he's one we can use straight away”, having played regularly for Crystal Palace throughout pre-season.

Combining his strength with class on the ball, Ozoh rounds out The Rams’ midfield options alongside Alex Mowatt, Oscar Fraulo, Bobby Clark and Lewis Travis, who is currently out injured. But the captain’s injury is not as bad as first feared – he will miss the next four or five weeks.

There is less good news with regard to Craig Forsyth, who will miss at least a couple of months after being forced off with a knee injury at Portsmouth on Tuesday. Having been brought in as injury cover for Matt Clarke, Eiran Cashin’s return becomes even more vital, as another defender is on the sidelines.

With the transfer window shut, Eustace is “excited about the challenge ahead.” They will not get much bigger than Saturday’s opponents.

West Ham

The Rams last faced West Ham in January 2023, when Paul Warne’s men lost 2-0 to The Hammers in the FA Cup fourth round. Alongside Michail Antonio, England international Jarrod Bowen was on the scoresheet. Now captain, he remains the star man in East London having been unfortunate to miss out on the England squad

“There’s a lot of so-called Premier League players in these squads now,” Eustace said during his pre-match press conference. But not many players who can boast a record like Bowen’s have been in the Championship while still on the right side of 30. The right winger has represented his country on 22 occasions and hit at least 10 goals for West Ham in each of the previous five seasons.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are much more than a one-man team, though. The likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos offer much Premier League experience. 22-year-old Belgian midfielder Arne Engels is probably their most eye-catching incoming of the summer, having arrived from Celtic for an EFL record fee of £22m.

Despite Nuno’s reputation for being a solid, counter-attacking coach in the Premier League, his side have endured a tougher than expected start to the campaign. After picking up just two points from their first three games, including a home defeat to Charlton, The Hammers got their first Championship win when they beat fellow recently relegated side Wolves 4-2 on Tuesday night.

In a battle of two teams that hope to have turned a corner this week, who will have that super Saturday?