Derby move 'the real deal' - Agyemang

New Derby County signing Patrick Agyemang has called the Rams "the real deal" after watching highlights of their matches before joining the club.

The 24-year-old US international striker made the move to Pride Park last month in a deal that could rise to £7.3 million.

Agyemang will not be making his league debut in Derby's Championship opener away to Stoke City on Saturday due to a long-standing hernia injury, which is expected to keep him out for several games.

"My agent got in contact with Derby earlier this year but they kind of left me out of it. They just said focus on your football, play, and do what you got to do," Agyemang told BBC Radio Derby.

"Once I got into the Gold Cup with the national team, that's when I really got the first real [sign], this team is really interested.

"So, I said OK. As a player you do your research right away and see how they are, and right from there I was very interested."

Agyemang is one of 11 new arrivals at Pride Park this summer with head coach John Eustace being given the funds to invest in his squad following a 19th-place finish last season.

Patrick Agyemang scored two goals for the United States in this summer's Gold Cup

After making his MLS debut for Charlotte FC in 2023, Agyemang gained the attention of US head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who handed the forward his first international cap in January.

A record of five goals in 12 appearances has helped him cement a place in Pochettino's starting line-up ahead of a World Cup on home soil next summer.

However, despite his increasing international profile, Agyemang admitted he was nervous about meeting Eustace.

"Initially, I went to watch the highlights [of Derby's games] and I've seen how passionate everyone was in the game, and the fans are crazy, so I was like, 'This is the real deal,'" Agyemang said.

"I had a Zoom call [with Eustace]. I was nervous, but right when I started talking to him, it felt really natural.

"They kind of talked to me more as a person rather than a player, and for me that's very important. Obviously, I'm coming to play football, but I want you to know who I am as a person as well."

The youngest of three boys, Agyemang said he owes his success to his family.

"We talk all the time," he said of his brothers, Emmanuel and Enoch.

"If I feel like I've had a good game, they say, 'No, that was a terrible game.'

"It's good because I like to have people in my corner and they are my two closest [friends] for sure.

"They're so convinced they can beat me in one v one's every time. It's crazy but it's brotherly love."

Agyemang, who grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, said he became "obsessed" with football at the age of five, fed in part by his father, Patrick Sr.

"The first time I played for East Hartford, he was my coach. At the beginning I wasn't having as much fun – if the thing didn't go my way, I started crying.

"As time went on, I couldn't wait for Saturdays, I just wanted to keep playing the game and never stop."

He added: "My parents worked multiple jobs and I thought that was normal until you see other people's families, and I thought, 'Oh shoot, my parents are working really hard.'

"They've done a lot for me, they've sacrificed a lot for me – it's a blessing because I'm able to start helping them now.

"So whenever I score, if they're in the stands, I always point to them... after games, we always celebrate together. I call them first, we pray together before the game, and then we pray after games."

Listen to the full interview with Patrick Agyemang and more about Derby County on BBC Sounds.