By Daniel Nhakaniso
Zimbabwe international Tawanda Chirewa has extended his Wolves contract before joining Championship side Derby County on a season-long loan deal.
Signed from Ipswich last summer, the 20-year-old enjoyed his breakthrough at Wolves last season.
The attacking midfielder made 10 senior appearances, including eight in the Premier League, before heading off to Spain and America with Wolves on pre-season this summer.
Chirewa was not included in the Wolves squad for their opening two Premier League matches of the season as the club looked to secure a temporary move which is meant to guarantee him regular first team football.
The coaches at Wolves believe Derby County were promoted back to the second tier in May and face Barrow in the Carabao Cup this week will offer Chirewa the perfect environment to make the transition to senior football.
Wolves’ head of professional football development Matt Jackson said:
“Tawanda’s made great progress since he’s joined us from Ipswich, being a part of that first team group. He’s grown up quickly and matured to have the quality to cope there, and now we’ll see if he can affect league football.
“We had a few inquiries for him, but we were looking for specific things. We certainly like the pressure of the Championship. We like the pressure of a big club, which you get at Derby.
“We really like the manager as well, he had ‘Gilo’ [Ryan Giles] before at Rotherham and we liked the way he looked after a young player there. So, it fits for Tawanda to go back under that tutelage, and we just think it’s a place he can go and express himself and get a lot of game time.
“It’s tough to play for our first-team here, but it’s tough to play for Derby’s first-team as well. He’s going to have to really have his wits about him, both in terms of playing style, but also integrating into the squad and being in an environment that’s difficult, with the expectation of a big crowd which really knows its football.”
Chirewa, who scored on his second international appearance for Zimbabwe in the summer, originally impressed for Wolves’ under-21s last season, before stepping up to make his senior debut in the Emirates FA Cup at Brentford in January, which signalled the biggest milestone yet of his Wolves career.
Jackson said: “We expected him to do well because we knew his ability. Great credit to our recruitment team to see that potential. But ultimately, he has to take responsibility for that, and he has done. He’s maturing as a person as well as a player, and he’ll relish the opportunity to go out to a big club in Derby to showcase his skills.
“Games are so important. We like that exposure they get in the first-team, because they see how good they have to be day in, day out. It’s different if you just get occasional chances to show the first-team coach what you can do, but he was doing that on a daily basis. You learn the physical strength that’s required and the discipline you need to bring every single day to training. Hopefully he can now impact the Championship, doing that for Derby.
“He’s looking forward to the opportunity. He wanted to get out as quickly as possible. It’s great for him that contract negotiations were very sensible moving forward and great for all parties. For him, he understands at this stage of his career, playing is all important, and that’s the opportunity he’s now going to take.”
Chirewa can play in various positions at the top end of the pitch, including out wide and in an advanced midfield role.
He is Derby’s ninth signing of the transfer window, following on from the arrivals of Ben Osborn, Kayden Jackson, Jerry Yates, Kenzo Goudmijn, Ebou Adams, David Ozoh, Rohan Luthra and Jacob Widell Zetterstrom earlier this summer.
Chirewa came through the youth ranks at Ipswich Town and became the second youngest player to appear for the Tractor Boys, at 16 years and 31 days old in November 2019, as a late substitute in an EFL Trophy clash against Colchester United, whilst still a schoolboy.
The forward went on to sign a two-year scholarship and, eventually, professional terms at Portman Road.
He made two more senior appearances for Ipswich in the 2022/23 season, starting in an EFL Trophy tie against Cambridge United in October 2022 and appearing off the bench in a 4-0 home win over Buxton in the FA Cup the following month.
Chirewa went on to move to Wolves in the summer of 2023, initially linking up with their Under-21s side. He scored five goals in seven appearances in Premier League 2, ahead of stepping up to the senior squad.