Derby County's 5 biggest transfer flop signings from recent times ft Raul Albentosa | OneFootball

The Rams have had their fair share of dismal arrivals in the last 24 years.

Derby County have just about nailed their transfer policy in the last two years after recovering from administration.

The likes of David McGoldrick, Joe Wildsmith and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing have been hugely successful at Pride Park, playing a major role in the club's revival following relegation to League One - with both Wildsmith and Mendez-Laing helping the Rams win promotion at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Derby have worked under a tight budget, adhering to a business plan with the EFL, before finally spending money on transfer fees for the first time since September 2020 this summer, and so far it looks as though they have succeeded at building a strong team.

However, since the year 2000, there have been plenty of signings that have struggled to make a name for themselves, with deals falling flat on their faces just months after being sanctioned.

Football League World has taken a look at five of the worst deals to have been made by the Rams since then, in what has been an up-and-down two-and-a-half decades at DE24.

Bob Malcolm

Scottish centre-back Bob Malcolm joined the Rams in 2006 after coming through the Rangers academy in the 1990s.

On a free, it looked as though the then 26-year-old could have been a good option for Billy Davies' team in the Championship, but an unexpected promotion became problematic for Malcolm.

He had played just 110 games for Rangers over the course of nine years, and struggled to break into the starting XI at Derby. He made just one appearance in the Premier League before he was loaned out to QPR in November 2007, with Malcolm leaving permanently just four months later, joining Motherwell.

Andrejs Pereplotkins

Perhaps one of the most bizarre signings in Derby's history, Ukranian-born Latvia international Andrejs Perepoltkins joined the Rams on loan in August 2008, from Lativian side Skonto.

The wide-midfielder hardly made an impact at Pride Park, playing just twice in the Championship, while he did pick up an assist against Lincoln City in a 3-1 win in the League Cup.

Nevertheless, Pereplotkins did not look at home in the East Midlands, and his loan deal was cut short early.

Liam Dickinson

The Rams went through a rough patch of signings inbetween 2006-2009, and Liam Dickinson was no different.

The striker cost Derby£750,000 after having an original bid of £250,000 rejected by Stockport County, but he failed to make an appearance in black-and-white and instead spent the majority of his time at Pride Park out on loan.

He left the club permanently just a year later for Brighton & Hove Albion for £100,000.

Nick Blackman

A big money signing in January 2016, Nick Blackman cost Derby£2.5 million as they pushed for promotion out of the Championship.

The team failed to do so once again, with Blackman's goal-scoring form from earlier in the season with Reading drying-up rapidly.

He scored just once for the Rams, a penalty against Cardiff City, before leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv on a permanent deal in 2019.

Raul Albentosa

The Rams were looking for a huge boost to continue their promotion hunt in the 2014/15 season, and with Derby sitting in the top three, Raul Albentosa made the switch from Spanish club Eibar for around €600,000, but struggled to fit into the English game.

He made just 10 appearances in all competitions for Derby, and looked slow and sluggish throughout.

It later emerged that the centre-back left his in-soles in Spain, and this impacted on his performances, and he was sold to Deportivo de La Coruna just a year-and-a-half later.