Teen star completes dream move

The 18-year-old product of the Northern Premier League Football Academy signed for the Championship giants for an undisclosed fee only a couple of months after making his full league debut for the Gladiators before Christmas in a 2-1 win at Lancaster City.

As part of the deal, a Derby County XI will travel to the DCJ Group Insurance Arena to face the EVO-STIK League Premier Division's Gladiators in a pre-season friendly ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Standing at 6ft 6in tall, Hunt skippered the club's NPLFA side and is the first academy product in the club's 140 year history to be sold to a professional club. The towering centre-back has signed an 18-month deal to link up with the Rams U23 side, with the option to extend his stay by a further year only a few months after going on trial at Premier League West Bromnich Albion.

The former Nottingham Forest and Mansfield Town academy star spent the last 18 months within the Matlock academy and reserve structure winning two titles before signing a contract with the first-team for joint managers Glenn Kirkwood and Craig Hopkins last July.

After the deal was completed, a proud Kirkwood told the club's fans that there was never any doubt that giant central defender would make it to the Football League or higher.

He said: “We could see he was destined for greater things during the pre-season when he came on no end. We’ve never seen such a level headed lad, he’s known about a deal for a long time but still trained hard and he’s immensely popular with our lads and everyone at the club.

"We’re really chuffed, delighted for him, he’s got maturity beyond his years, he’s a cracking lad. We know he’ll carry on working hard and we hope to be able to see him on Match of The Day.”

Paying tribute to the staff in the club's academy for the integral role they've played in Hunt’s progression up the football ladder, Kirkwood added: “Max’s development is testimony to the work of everyone involved in the Academy, the likes of Jamie Yates, Steve Heath, Justin Tellus and Carl Vickers deserve immense praise."

Hunt told Derby`s official website: “This is a dream come true and is what I have wanted since I was a young kid. I want to be a professional footballer, but in truth, the hard work just starts now. I’m happy to be here. I want to progress as much as possible and I have ambitions to just better myself every day and just work hard.

"At the same time, this is a great opportunity to work with some top-quality coaches every day. I want to be here for a long time. It’s a massive club, the set-up is fantastic, and I loved my time on trial."

He added: “I want to say a big thank you to Matlock too. Craig Hopkins, Glenn Kirkwood, Jamie Yates, Steve Heath, Justin Tellus and the all the people in the development system have helped me as a young lad and gave me my first taste of men’s football, which was a big moment for me. I can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for me.”

Hunt's move was also hailed by his proud former coaches at the NPLFA on social media, @NPLFA tweeting: "Congratulations to former @Matlock_TownFC student Max Hunt who has sealed a dream move to Championship club @dcfcofficial. Good luck @maxhunt10! We will be following your progress in the professional game."

Images courtesy of matlocktownfc.co.uk & @NPLFA/Twitter

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