Where Derby County's best paid player from 10 years ago is right now | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at the Rams' highest permanent earner from the 2014/15 campaign and where he is now.

Derby County have been on a journey over the course of the last 10 years, and after coming so close to Premier League promotion during the 2010s, the 2020s have been a lot more difficult in comparison.

Former owner Mel Morris spent an incredible amount of money on the Rams during his time at Pride Park. It eventually came back to haunt him as the club was put into administration in September 2021, and they were relegated into League One.

The money that was spent by the East Midlands side during the 2014/15 campaign never truly paid off. Despite being involved in the promotion battle for the majority of the season, Steve McClaren's side dropped out of the play-off places on the final day after a 3-0 defeat to Reading, and they finished eighth in the Championship.

Football League World has taken a look at Derby's best paid player during that season, and what they are up to now.

Stephen Warnock joined the Rams in January 2015 and quickly became the highest earner

The Rams ended 2014 just outside the top two, and they were keen to strengthen in the January transfer window.

Stephen Warnock was signed from Leeds United to help provide more cover and support at left-back. While his game time was very limited during his first season at Pride Park, he did prove to be incredibly useful in the 2015/16 campaign after Craig Forsyth suffered an ACL injury.

The defender had a vast amount of experience of playing in both the Championship and Premier League, but he was forced to watch on from the bench for the majority of his first few months in black-and-white.

It was another indicator of Morris' financial strength during the 2010s, as that level of experience does come at a cost.

According to Capology, Warnock was Derby's highest permanent earner during the 2014/15 season, and he was estimated to bring in an estimated £18,000-a-week.

Darren Bent, Leon Best and Tom Ince were all earning more than the left-back as per the website's estimates. However, it is unknown just how much of those wages the Rams contributed to during their respective time on loan at Pride Park.

Warnock has been retired for nearly seven years

After making just 30 appearances in black-and-white, Warnock moved to Wigan Athletic on loan, before becoming a Latic on a permanent basis.

However, his time in Greater Manchester was short, and he returned to the Midlands with Burton Albion soon after. A short loan spell at Bradford City followed before he eventually retired with the Brewers in 2018.

Since then, he has been a pundit and is regularly seen on Sky Sports News. He has also covered the Champions League, the EFL and Premier League with a multitude of broadcasters.

Warnock has not ventured into the coaching side of the game yet, but with his experience at the top level, it would not be a surprise to see the former Derby left-back come back into the game at some point in the future.