The Burton boy made history as the youngest ever fully-fledged Dragon. Now he aims to establish himself in the Derby first team
Nyatanga made his Derby debut in a League Cup tie against Grimsby in 2005 and quickly earned a reputation as a promising ball-playing centre-half.
Although born in nearby Burton, 6ft 2in Nyatanga qualified to play for Zimbabwe via his father and Wales via his mother. He chose the Dragons and made his debut aged just 17 years 195 days against Paraguay in March 2006; the same month, he collected the Championship Apprentice of the Year award at the inaugural Football League Awards.
With first-team opportunities limited at Pride Park, he joined Sunderland on loan that October, prior to three separate spells with Barnsley. In January 2008, he was recalled by Paul Jewell and he went on to score on his Premier League debut at Portsmouth in a 3-1 defeat.