It was just a matter of time until former Derby County midfielder Timi Elsnik began to draw notice following a string of strong performances for Slovenia in Euro 2024.
There have allegedly already been hints of interest from Southampton and Leicester City, and it is generally anticipated that he will move Olimpija Ljubljana this summer. Rob Key, a Derby supporter, will be among the first to find out where he ends up thanks to a connection that has lasted for over ten years.
When Elsnik joined Derby back in 2015, he lived with Key’s family after the team seen him competing for Slovenia’s under-18s in the European Championships. Elsnik left his native country to try to make the breakthrough at Derby, and in need of a place to stay, he moved in with the Key family.
“I had a friend who was a Forest fan and he just slipped into conversation that he took some of their youth team players on and had them live with him for a while,” Key told Derbyshire Live. “I live off Lime Lane, right past the King’s Corner bar, close to Derby’s training area. We felt that was a really smart idea. After reaching out to the club, Timi was through the door the very next minute.
“We had him as our first player. We conducted it between 2015 and 2021, and throughout that period, we had a number of participants, including Lee Buchanan, Jayden Bogle, and Morgan Whittaker. When the epidemic struck—a story for another time—we ceased the practice, but Timi stopped by after competing in the European Under-18 Championship. He was scouted by Derby, who signed him to a youth contract that was, I believe, for two years.
“He and his parents came over. It ended when we met them. He spent the first year with us. We had no idea what to anticipate, yet he was incredibly friendly from the first time we met him. Considering that he was just 16 or 17 years old when he moved to another country, he is a really kind and gentle man.
“However, he was aware of his goals and what he hoped to gain from it. He made a list of his desires, but more significantly, we saw that he was eager to join the family and demonstrated this from the start.”
It is challenging enough to move across England in pursuit of your professional football dreams, even without the comforts of home.
However, relocating to a new nation at such a young age, especially from another country, is a quite different story. Elsnik leaves behind family and friends, but he soon felt compelled to study about England, its history, and Derby, for which Key had a season ticket since the 1980s.
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