Will Hughes

Hughes started the match on the substitute's bench and came on in the 68th minute, replacing Theo Robinson in a 2–1 win.

Hughes started his first match for the senior team in the final match of the season, a 1–1 draw against Peterborough United.

Hughes' performance match earned praise from Derby manager Nigel Clough.

At Derby's awards night, Hughes won the Scholar of the Year Award.

After impressing in pre-season, Clough said that Hughes could be in line for a place in the starting line-up in the first match of the season against Scunthorpe United in the League Cup.

Clough was particularly impressed with his substitute appearance against Colchester United saying, "When he came off the bench at Colchester, he was very good indeed. I thought he was the star of the subs. He looked comfortable. I don't think he gave the ball away and he made our equaliser. We are very pleased with him."

Hughes made his full debut for Derby as a 90th-minute substitute for Jamie Ward.

Despite entering the match late with the scores level, there was still time for Hughes' first-team debut to end in defeat as a 94th-minute goal saw Peterborough win 3–2.

After Derby midfielder Paul Green, who was out-of-contract at the end of the season, rejected a contract offer, Clough dropped him and promoted Hughes to the first-team squad as his replacement for the penultimate match of the season at Portsmouth.

William James Hughes (born 17 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Crystal Palace.

He played for Repton's football team, reaching the final of the Independent Schools Football Association Under-15 Cup in 2010, where he scored the first goal in a 3–1 extra-time defeat to Brentwood.

Having briefly been on the books of Nottingham Forest, Hughes played for local side Mickleover Jubilee, before leaving Repton to sign for Derby County as a first-year scholar in the summer of 2011.

While at Derby he completed A-Levels in politics and business with the help of tutors.

Hughes made his debut for the club's reserve team as a 70th minute substitute in a 6–1 Central League win over Walsall on 22 September 2011 and made two additional appearances in the Central League Cup.

It was his "outstanding" performance in a 1–0 win over Port Vale reserves in the competition on 1 November which brought him to manager Nigel Clough's attention for possible inclusion in the Derby first-team squad against Peterborough United four days later.

Having graduated a scholarship with Derby County, Hughes made his first team breakthrough during the 2012–13 season; his performances resulted in him earning attraction from multiple clubs across Europe.

Hughes scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win against Watford on 1 September 2012.

Hughes signed a new contract in October 2012, committing his future at the club until summer 2015.

Hughes scored his second goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat at Millwall on 10 November, scoring an equalising goal from 20 yards.

In November 2012, Hughes was linked with moves to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Nigel Clough denied the rumours, however he said the interest in the player was inevitable and said many scouts had been at Derby matches to watch Hughes.

Hughes was named the Football League Young Player of the Month for November 2012, after a series of impressive performances.

On the eve of the 2013 January transfer window, it was reported in the Derby Telegraph that Hughes was being closely observed by 10 Premier League clubs with Fulham's manager Martin Jol saying of Hughes, "Believe me, there are probably 10 clubs in the Premier League having a look at him. He is one of these wonderful talents, so he is always on lists. If you have a good scouting system, he will always be on the list but we will see."

In February 2013, during a 0–0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hughes picked up a groin injury and was replaced after 63 minutes.

As a result of this injury, Hughes ended his ever-present run of Derby first-team appearances after 35 matches and ended a run of 37 consecutive appearances.

With twelve matches remaining in the season and with Derby unlikely to fight for a play-off place and with Hughes being ruled out for the first two matches in March; Clough said he considered resting Hughes for the rest of season to reduce stress on his body.

In April 2013, Hughes signed a one-year extension to his contract after his 18th birthday, extending his stay until June 2016.

Hughes returned to first-team action before schedule on 20 April as an 85th-minute substitute in Derby's 3–1 against Peterborough United.

At the end of the season, Hughes won the Sammy Crooks Young Player of the Year award.

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Hughes was expected to compete with Craig Bryson, Paul Coutts and Jeff Hendrick, with then-manager Nigel Clough stating that rotation could be utilised.

Hughes scored his first goal of the season on 27 August in a 5–0 win against League One side Brentford in the League Cup.

He scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–1 defeat at home to Reading on 21 September.

This was Hughes' last goal under Nigel Clough, who was sacked a week later following a 1–0 defeat at the hands of rivals Nottingham Forest in the East Midlands derby.

Clough was replaced by former England manager Steve McClaren, and Hughes scored in his first match in charge of Derby; a 3–1 win against Leeds United.

On 1 July 2014, Hughes agreed a new four-year contract at Derby County, which would see his contract at the club extended until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Hughes made his move to the Premier League with Watford in 2017, helping the Hornets reach the FA Cup final in 2019 and maintain top-flight football for three seasons.

Following Watford's relegation in 2020, Hughes played a central role in their promotion campaign the following season.

Born in Weybridge, Surrey, Hughes moved to Derby at the age of two.

Hughes was first educated at St Peter's Junior school and then Repton School for secondary school in Derbyshire, where he was a boarder attending on a sports scholarship.

Growing up, Hughes also played cricket and tennis.