Derby County struck gold with combined £12.75m expense on Matej Vydra and Tom Ince | OneFootball

Football League World has taken a look at two of the Rams' best signings from recent years.

Derby County's spending in the 2010's was very well documented, and with Mel Morris as owner, they were often at the top end of the Championship table but were never quite able to win that elusive promotion.

The Rams reached the play-off final twice during the decade, first losing out in the 90th minute to QPR as Bobby Zamora smashed the ball into the back of the net in 2014, before Aston Villa ran out 2-1 winners at Wembley in 2019.

Morris' heavy spending eventually saw the club be placed into administration in 2021 and they suffered relegation to League One, and since then, the East Midlands outfit have been run a lot more efficiently and carefully by David Clowes.

Nevertheless, there were some gems bought during this period, and Football League World has taken a look at two players who cost Derby significant fees but paid it off with some incredible performances.

Matej Vydra

Matej Vydra arrived at Pride Park with a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders, as the Rams paid out a club-record £8m for the Czech forward.

He struggled in his first season in black-and-white, with disruption off the field due to frequent changes of managers stopping Derby from mounting any momentum over the course of the 2016/17 campaign.

However, the arrival of Gary Rowett in March 2017 would prove to be the moment that unlocked Vydra, and two goals in the current Oxford United manager's first two games in charge were a sign of things to come.

The Rams' former number 23 scored just five times in his first season in DE24, but 2017/18 would prove to be his year as he won the Championship Golden Boot award.

Vydra found the back of the net 21 times in 40 league games as Derby made it to the play-offs, but they were beaten in the semi-final by Fulham over two legs.

The then 26-year-old looked set to move to Leeds United for £11m in the summer of 2018, but the deal fell through and he instead made the switch to the Premier League with Burnley instead for the same fee, landing the Rams a healthy £3m profit.

Tom Ince

Tom Ince originally joined Derby on loan from Hull City in January 2015 after Jordan Ibe returned to Liverpool half-way through the season, and the ex-Nottingham Forest winger had an incredible spell despite his team dropping out of the top six on the last day of the season.

A deal was worked with the Tigers to bring the son of former Manchester United ace Paul ince to Pride Park permanently that summer, as Paul Clement spent £4.75m on the young talent.

Ince scored 12 goals and registered seven assists during the 2015/16 campaign as the Rams finished fifth and faced his former club in the play-offs, losing out over the course of two legs.

However, he stayed on and had an even better season as the rest of his team struggled for form throughout the year. He ended his final year at Derby with 15 goals and six assists in all competitions, before leaving for the Premier League.

Huddersfield Town paid out £10m for Ince in July 2017, but he failed to recapture the form that he had in black-and-white, with Pride Park still holding some of his happiest memories as a player.