Derby County's disastrous 2021/22 campaign – which ended with relegation down to League One – is now very much a distant thought put to the back of the mind of many fans at Pride Park, who look to be currently watching a promotion-winning team.
The Rams certainly have the upper hand in the battle for the final automatic promotion spot up to the Championship after beating Bolton Wanderers last time out, a decisive header from Kane Wilson winning the box-office clash to give his side a four-point cushion in second place.
Although everything is going swimmingly well for Paul Warne and Co in the here and now, there might well be some intrigue from Derby fans to see where a selection of forgotten faces from yesteryear have ended up.
This ex-Rams youth product, for example, has had a bumpy time ever since waving goodbye to Pride Park two years ago, sold by Wayne Rooney to a Premier League buyer with major things expected of him that haven't yet come to fruition.
Luke Plange's time with Derby
Luke Plange would make his Derby debut in the same campaign that saw the Rams lose their Championship status, but the youngster was one very notable bright spark amidst all the doom and gloom engulfing Derbyshire at the time.
Formerly on the books at Arsenal as an academy product, Plange would finally get his moment in the senior spotlight relocating to the Rams.
Plange would be rewarded with a first-team debut against Bristol City in December of that season by Rooney, after bagging ten goals in 18 youth games for the club.
1. GK – Ryan Allsop
2. CB – Craig Forsyth
3. CB – Curtis Davies
4. CB – Phil Jagielka
5. RM – Kamil Jozwiak
6. CM – Graeme Shinnie
7. CM – Max Bird
8. CM – Jason Knight
9. LM – Dylan Williams
10. ST – Luke Plange
11. ST – Tom Lawrence
Sourced by Transfermarkt
It would take the 6 foot 2 centre-forward just two games to prove Rooney's bold faith in him was justified in the men's set-up, firing home a rebound effort to steer the Rams to a 1-0 win over Blackpool.
The Derby boss at the time wouldn't just utilise Plange as a youngster in isolation, bedding in the likes of Max Bird, Jason Knight and faces such as Eiran Cashin from off the bench to give the beleaguered Rams energy when needed.
Plange would go on to score three more goals that season for his eventually relegated side, but he wouldn't be sticking around to make up the numbers in any promotion push from League One that followed.
Crystal Palace would take a punt on the emerging Derby star after he had shone brightly in spurts for his doomed side, forking out £1m to land the raw talent just a matter of weeks after he burst onto the scene against Blackpool before immediately loaning him back to Pride Park to aid his growth.
Yet, ever since leaving Derby behind permanently, Plange has never quite managed to break through into the Eagles' first team in the same manner he did when sending tremors through the Rams set-up.
Once described as being a "clever" player by Rooney – high praise indeed from a man who was once a wonderkid himself before going on to have an esteemed career – Plange now finds himself stuck in a continuous loop of loans away from Selhurst Park instead of exploding into life for the South London side which now sees him plying his trade in Finland.
Luke Plange's time at Crystal Palace
The one-time Derby prospect has never started a senior game for Palace, only being restricted to U21s football to the dismay of the now 21-year-old.
Plange has netted four goals in four games playing in the Premier League 2 for the youthful Eagles – with a hat-trick recently picked up against Aston Villa U21s – but it's when he's been chucked out to various different clubs on loan to test his mettle away from these comforts that he's really struggled.
The two-time England U20 international has become a well-travelled striker consequently, playing for the likes of Carlisle United and Lincoln City in the EFL whilst also venturing out to far-away RWD Molenbeek to test himself in unfamiliar surroundings in Belgium.
Plange has unfortunately been goal-shy wherever he's ended up away from Palace, only managing to find the back of the net an unconvincing four times from 54 appearances as a nomadic loanee with his time at Sincil Bank seeing him fire routine blanks across 18 torrid games.
Still, regardless of all these shaky spells away from south London, new Palace boss Oliver Glasner would gift Plange a spot on the substitutes bench during his first Premier League match as manager to take his total times on the Eagles bench to five for the campaign.
One final chance for Plange in Finland
Glasner was clearly impressed by his form for the Palace youth side, but Plange now finds himself at his fourth loan club regardless and arguably his most unique one yet in HJK Helsinki, playing in a division ranked as the 34th best among UEFA's coefficient of European nations.
Plange will now view Finland as his home until January 2025, having put pen to paper on a deal with the Finnish first-tier side just this month.
The 6 foot 2 youngster will hope he can lead the line with confidence for his new employers, reawakening a deadly streak potentially in senior football that hasn't really been present since his electric beginnings in Derbyshire.
If Plange was to struggle in the Veikkausliiga – where his current loan side are the reigning champions – the patience held by those at Palace for him to come good could become very thin.
It's been an up-and-down time for Plange ever since walking out of Derby two years ago, whilst the Rams have rebuilt well ever since their former youth star exited to make breaking back into the Championship a very real possibility this campaign.
