Derby County must still regret £3.5m Norwich City transfer | OneFootball

Derby County made a transfer mistake by bringing Robert Earnshaw to Pride Park from Norwich City

Derby County’s £3.5m move for Robert Earnshaw quickly turned into one of the most forgettable transfers of their Premier League era.

When Derby County paid £3.5 million to sign Robert Earnshaw from Norwich City in the summer of 2007, it was a logical move which brought about a sense of excitement for the Rams' first season back in the Premier League, after their play-off triumph against West Brom.

Earnshaw had a proven goalscoring track record in England’s top two divisions, especially with the Canaries, and was known for his quick and lively nature in the final third, which gave him the reputation of being a quality poacher who needed just half a chance to find the back of the net.

This is reflected in his stats. In 47 appearances for Norwich, the Welsh international scored 27 times and provided two assists, making his transfer to Derby look like a shrewd signing on face value.

For a club preparing for life in the Premier League, Earnshaw looked like he could make the crucial difference in what was likely to be a relegation battle. Partnered with the Championship-proven Steve Howard, the Rams seemed to have a solid strikeforce on their hands which could achieve survival. However, that feat couldn't be reached.

Instead of providing the spark Derby desperately needed, his time at Pride Park was short and by no means sweet, as the 2007/08 season memorably went down as the worst in Premier League history.

Robert Earnshaw was a marquee signing who never made the impact Derby County hoped for

Earnshaw arrived as the club’s record signing, and with that fee came high expectations, especially with the club embarking on their top-flight adventure. After winning promotion, the Premier League is a whole other level when it comes to goalscoring. So with Howard already in their ranks, Earnshaw's goals were needed in order to give themselves a fighting chance.

The hope was that Earnshaw’s pace and natural instincts inside the box would translate into points. However, it never happened.

Derby struggled and Earnshaw quickly found himself isolated in a team where chances would come at a premium. For a striker, confidence is one of the main qualities you need, and ultimately the Welshman was drained of it, as well as the whole squad.

This evidently took a hit on his numbers, which reflected the story of his short Derby career. The forward managed to score just one Premier League goal in the entire 2007/08 season. And Derby went on to collect a record-low 11 points in the 38 games season, finishing bottom with just one win.

For a club that had invested heavily in a proven scorer, the return couldn’t have been much more disappointing. As a result, Earnshaw didn’t become what the Rams hoped he would after splashing £3.5m on him – he barely became a factor at all.

Robert Earnshaw's transfer is remembered as part of a nightmare season for Derby County

With Derby dropping straight back down into the Championship, the club needed to recoup funds in order to stabalise and search for a quick return to the Premier League.

With a lack of goalscoring prowess in his first nine months for the Rams, just a year after arriving, Earnshaw made the short trip to join local rivals Nottingham Forest where he was signed for a fee of £2.65m, almost £1m less than what Derby had initially paid Norwich.

For Forest, Earnshaw's form massively improved as he rediscovered himself in front of goal, and went onto make 110 appearances for them between 2008-2011 and in that time scored 43 goals. With Derby watching on in despair, it was a kick in the teeth as they merely saw glimpses of that, and served as a clear reminder as to why they paid £3.5m for him in the first place.

For Derby, a record signing had become a loss-making departure in the space of twelve months, without ever coming close to justifying the investment. In Black and White there was no upturn in form or key moment that he will be fondly remembered for. His Derby career simply fizzled out.

However, it has to be said that Earnshaw wasn’t the only Rams player who struggled that year, and he certainly wasn’t solely responsible for Derby’s collapse. The entire squad found the step-up to the top-flight too steep. But because he was the club’s big attacking buy prior to the season kicking off, his lack of goals became a glaring point of blame from the fanbase.

Instead of being remembered as the signing who helped keep Derby up, Earnshaw became tied to a season defined by unwanted records, and ultimately, he was a costly gamble that never paid off. The £3.5m move turned into a painful chapter in Derby's 2007/08 campaign that the fans would rather forget.