Eiran Cashin

Eiran Joe Cashin (born 9 November 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Derby County. Born in England, he was a youth international for the Republic of Ireland.

Cashin joined Derby County's academy and in 2018–19 was a part of Derby's U18 Premier League title success. In 2020, Cashin signed his first professional contract for Derby and in December 2021, he made his first team debut for Derby in a season which resulted in relegation to League One after financial issues.

In July 2022, after the club were taken over by David Clowes, Cashin signed a two-year contract in his second season of this deal he helped the side gain promotion back to the Championship and he was also named in the League One Team of the Season for 2023–24. In February 2024, Cashin signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension with Derby after a move to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion broke down in August 2023.

Born in Nottinghamshire, Cashin is eligible to represent Republic of Ireland through his grandmother and Cashin has been capped at under-18 and under-21 level for the Republic.

Derby County
A youth product of Derby County, Cashin first played as a central midfielder for the academy, before being converted to a central defender. Cashin was during the 2018–19 season, a part of Derby's U18 Premier League title success. Despite being very close to being released by the club due to COVID-19 concerns, Cashin signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer of 2020. During the 2020–21 season, Cashin started to feature in first team matchday squads under Wayne Rooney, as well his role in the under-23 team.

During the 2021–22 season, Cashin broke into the first team however, he his debut for the first team was delayed to the EFL squad registration restrictions due Derby's administration. He made his professional debut with Derby County on 11 December 2021, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 EFL Championship win over Blackpool. His first goal in senior football came on 30 April 2022, in a 2–0 win away to Blackpool. He played a total amount of eighteen league matches during the season, as Derby were eventually relegated to League One. Cashin, thanked Rooney for his loyalty in giving him his first taste of first team action in a difficult season for the club.

On 2 July 2022, following Derby's takeover by Clowes Developments, Cashin was able to extend his contract with the club until 2024. Cashin was a first team regular during the 2022–23 making 52 appearances, scoring one goal against Charlton Athletic as he was named the clubs young player of the year. Cashin played the last six game of the season with an hernia injury, as Derby fell short of a play-off place by a point and a place.

Cashin went into the 2023–24 season once again as Derby's first choice central defender and in the summer transfer window was linked with a transfer to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion who had multiple bids rejected in July and August 2023, head coach Paul Warne stated these bids did not match Derby's valuation. Brighton did match Derby's valuation at the end of the transfer window on 1 September 2023, however the transfer did not occur due to limited time scale to find a replacement or arrange a loan back deal for Cashin. Cashin was not named in Derby's starting lineup the following day against Bolton Wanderers due to only arriving at the team hotel 2am the night before the game. In a March 2024 interview for the Derby Telegraph, Cashin stated that he had spent six hours in a Starbucks coffee shop near Little Eaton unsure whether he was going to Brighton to complete a transfer or to Bolton for Derby's match the following day. Cashin stated that Warne was gutted for him that this "life-changing opportunity" had broken down but told Cashin to keep his head down and focus on the season ahead at Derby.

On 23 November 2023, amid speculation that a bigger club might put in an offer for the player, Warne said Cashin would be offered a new contract. Warne told Cashin on 27 December 2023 that he was not for sale. Derby activated a one-year extension clause on Cashin's contract on 1 January 2024, to extend his contract until June 2025 and stated the player was not for sale in the January transfer window, he also made his 100th senior appearance for Derby on the same day. On 2 February 2024, he signed another new contract, extending his contract until June 2027. He stated later on that he went into January with an open mind over his future but once he received the contract offer, said it was a "no brainer" to sign. Cashin and his central defensive partner Curtis Nelson, were one of the strongest and reliable defensive partnerships in League One during this season as their relationship and trust in each other showed on the field. Cashin with these performances was named in the League One Team of the Year in the 2024 EFL Awards for the 2023–24 season. Cashin played 44 times in League and playing the strongest defence statistically during the season with Derby making 21 league clean sheets whilst Cashin was on the pitch. Cashin also won back-to-back young player of year awards at Derby. Cashin made 52 appearances in total for Derby during the season as Derby finished runners-up in the division and earn promotion to the Championship automatically.

International career
Born in England, Cashin is a youth international for the Republic of Ireland. He qualifies through a grandmother born in County Leitrim.

He played for the Republic of Ireland U18s in a 4–0 loss to the Turkey U18s in March 2019.

On 6 June 2022, Cashin made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, assisting the second goal in a 3–1 win over Montenegro U21 at Tallaght Stadium.

Style of play
Cashin despite concerns of his lack of height, is a central defender who is strong in aerial duels, he also has a good reputation for reading the game ahead of him well and can break up attacks from the opposition with interceptions and good defensive positioning, he also has good technical ability in terms of long and short passing accuracy and his vision of play can help his side start attacks from defence. His ability in aerial duels, is a benefit to his team in set pieces both defensively and offensively as he is often the first man to deal with defensive set pieces and in offensive situations, Cashin has scored several headed goals from set pieces. He showed great adaptivity in League One as he moved from a slow-possession based system under Liam Rosenior to a faster more direct system under Paul Warne with few issues.

Honours
Derby County
 * EFL League One second-place promotion: 2023–24

Individual
 * Derby County Young Player of the Season: 2022–23, 2023–24
 * EFL League One Team of the Season: 2023–24