West Brom were spared of historic transfer blunder by Derby County situation | OneFootball

George Thorne joined the Rams on loan in 2014 before his deal was permanent that summer. However, injuries denied him the chance of becoming a great.

In January 2014, Derby County were pursuing promotion to the Premier League, six years after they had been relegated to the Championship, with a record-breaking points tally low of just 11.

Steve McClaren had taken over at Pride Park earlier in the campaign, as Nigel Clough's four-year association with the Rams came to an end following defeat to bitter rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in September 2013, with the former England boss coming in to replace him just two days later.

The East Midlands outfit quickly saw themselves fly up the table, with impressive victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool and Doncaster Rovers pushing the club towards the automatic promotion race. And, after such a positive autumn, they finally cracked the top two over the festive period.

While Leicester City and Burnley would take control of the table in the following weeks, Derby strengthened that January, with the addition of George Thorne from West Bromwich Albion proving to be a masterstroke. However, problems would soon arise for the midfielder.

George Thorne made a huge impact at Derby County while on loan from West Bromwich Albion

The then 21-year-old had spent a portion of the first-half of the campaign with Watford, but he departed the club after an eight-game stint and West Brom decided that the holding midfielder would be best suited with a move to Pride Park in January.

Thorne did not feature for eight games when he first arrived at the Rams, spending his time as an unused substitute. However, he finally got his first chance against Nottingham Forest, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands and played excellently as Derby ran out 5-0 winners.

McClaren kept the Baggies youngster in the starting XI for the next month, as the East Midlands outfit narrowly missed out on a top two finish, instead finishing third and setting themselves up with a play-off semi-final clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Thorne scored a stunning volley in the second leg at Pride Park as Derby crossed to Wembley with a 6-2 victory over the Seagulls. However, they were beaten 1-0 by a dramatic Bobby Zamora winner in the final, as QPR won promotion to the Premier League, leaving the Rams battered and bruised in the capital.

Yet, supporters would not have to wait long to see their number 34 return to DE24, with a permanent agreement arranged between the two clubs.

West Bromwich Albion were the long-term winners of Derby County, George Thorne deal as injuries hit

That summer, Derby signed Thorne on a four-year deal, as he bid farewell to West Brom and The Hawthorns, as McClaren looked to take his side to the Premier League automatically this time around.

A pre-season trip to Austria was lined up for the Rams, but it proved to be disastrous for the 21-year-old, as he suffered an ACL injury while away and he would go on to make just three appearances in the Championship all season.

A hamstring issue would see his campaign end early, and what looked to be a huge slip-up by West Brom in selling a player who could have gone on to become a key asset, was starting to prove to be the right decision.

Thorne never quite got back to the levels that he showed during his loan spell at Derby, and his injury problems would never go away. In 2015/16, he returned to a more consistent level of game time, making 34 appearances in the Championship, in the closing minutes of the season, a leg break would cause the Chatham-born ace to miss an entire year of football.

It was October 2017 when Thorne finally got back into the team, with Gary Rowett bringing him on against Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 win. However, he was never the same player and fitness issues continued to plague him as he eventually left the Rams in January 2020. For West Brom, they may still breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that he did not fulfill his incredible potential as it would've marked a historic blunder.