Matt Derbyshire is a revelation. Starting out in the little Lancashire Sunday League side Great Harwood Town, nobody would have guessed that a few years later the young lad would be playing for the England under-21 side on a regular basis. 

Blackburn Rovers signed Derbyshire as a 17-year-old trainee back in 2003. Since then he has been loaned out for short spells at Plymouth in 2004 and, more successfully, to Wrexham in 2005-2006 where he managed to score 10 goals in 16 apprearances for the Welsh club.

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes' decision to give Derbyshire  loan spells to give him match practice and competitive games proved a masterstroke. Since his move back to Blackburn, Derbyshire has fitted in well to Premiership life and although by no means the finished product, the young Blackburn lad is a hot prospect and an England star in the making.

Derbyshire's terrific goal against Middlesbrough in the first game of this season after being on the pitch literally seconds has no doubt boosted his confidence for the months to come and on Tuesday he scored again for the England under-21s against Romania – simply brilliant.  He should benefit from playing up front with more established players such as Benni McCarthy, Jason Roberts and Roque Santa Cruz, and should keep the big-name Blackburn stars on their toes. He should also take advantage of playing in the UEFA Cup with his home-town club, being able to mix it with big European stars, should Blackburn shake off MyPa of Finland in next week's second leg at Ewood Park.

Blackburn are only a small club and it’s exciting to see that they can produce home-grown talent like Derbyshire. But how long will they be able to hold on to him? Will he be lured to a bigger club or will he be satisfied to play for a team that took him under their wing, a team that might be small but which has big ambitions ... his home team? Let’s hope so.

Blackburn have uncovered a true star.