Exciting 2018 Derby County summer transfer haul ultimately hurt the club | OneFootball

Derby County's exciting summer business in 2018 was quickly followed by financial disaster

Derby County’s exciting 2018 summer transfer window is one that fans remember quite well all these years later, but it was a turning point that ultimately hurt the club in the long run.

Frank Lampard was appointed manager in place of Gary Rowett, his first role in management after the end of his playing career.

With that came many unknowns, but it also brought an exciting first summer in charge in which the Rams signed several promising young stars.

The likes of Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson all arrived on loan as the next big thing from Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively.

The former two went on to play for England and in the Champions League, while Wilson is now an established Premier League player at Fulham.

Other signings like Florian Jozefzoon arrived for a fee of £2.75 million, via Sky Sports, choosing Pride Park over Leeds United, as well as Jack Marriott for £3 million, via Sky Sports.

Frank Lampard’s promotion regret

Derby enjoyed a great campaign under Lampard and reached the play-off final before coming up just short against Aston Villa, leaving the Rams facing another year in the Championship.

A sixth place finish was a solid return, with Mount, Tomori and Wilson all playing key roles.

However, they ultimately all returned to their parent clubs at the end of that season, leaving Derby without three players that were instrumental to their run to the play-off final.

Tomori played in 44 of their 46 regular league games, while Wilson scored 15 from 40 appearances.

Mount contributed eight goals and four assists as well, so losing all of that was a huge blow, especially after Lampard also went to Chelsea.

The now Coventry City boss opened up on his regret over his promotion disappointment with Derby in 2021, with the club under financial pressure at that point.

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, he outlined that the issues began during his time as manager, and that winning against Aston Villa would’ve made a huge difference to their fortunes.

“The night I saw Mel [Morris, Derby chairman and owner] there and Mel was so gracious afterwards and it felt to me that the club were on a tipping point and promotion would have sorted it out,” said Lampard.

“When you work all year to get to a play-off final and beat Leeds, who were pretty much the best team in the league for me that year, and you lose a final, the hit of that, as I say, I felt for Mel big time.”

Derby’s financial disaster

While Lampard, Mount, Wilson and Tomori all departed Derby at the end of the season in 2019, the club were left with an under-performing Marriott and Jozefzoon, with the pair unable to make their mark long-term for the Rams.

The Derbyshire outfit were ultimately relegated within a few years of their defeat at Wembley Stadium.

By 2022, the club had entered administration and were heading straight for League One under Wayne Rooney.

While David Clowes purchased Derby and saved them from the brink, their financial position has yet to fully recover even with promotion back to the Championship in 2024.

The summer of 2018 was an exciting time for Derby, but now it serves as a reminder of how quickly everything can fall apart at this level even if you are blinded by some high-profile names in the dugout and on the pitch.