Ebou Adams transfer truth emerges - Portsmouth have landed Derby County bargain | OneFootball

Stephen Pearce has explained how the Rams used Ebou Adams' transfer fee from Portsmouth this January.

Stephen Pearce has revealed how Ebou Adams' January departure helped Derby County to an incredible transfer window, which saw the club announce five signings - including two on deadline day.

The midfielder, who had been a key cog at Pride Park over the course of the last two years, left the Rams during the window, joining fellow Championship outfit Portsmouth. The Blues spent £500k on the 30-year-old, and he has already started to repay that fee with goals against West Browmich Albion and most importantly, Southampton.

However, for his former club, that fee proved to be vital, with Oscar Fraulo, Jaydon Banel, Derry Murkin and Sammie Szmodics all making their way to DE24 throughout the month, while Dion Sanderson's loan move from Birmingham City was made permanent.

12 months after a difficult final day of the transfer window, supporters have been heaping praise on those at the top of the club, and this new revelation will only help add to that positivity. Yet, it is perhaps Portsmouth who Derby fans must thank.

Stephen Pearce reveals how Portsmouth helped fund Derby County's transfer window

After an incredibly busy January, CEO Stephen Pearce has spoken to local media about the club's current position both on and off the pitch. John Eustace has pushed the Rams into play-off contention, and therefore, it was vital that he was backed in the transfer market.

However, Pearce explained to BBC Radio Derby just how the sale of Adams helped the club. He said: "In terms of the business that we did in January, all the outs that we achieved, and the wage savings and the transfer fee for Ebou [Adams], meant that we could do the business that we did in terms of the permanents and the loans.

"Obviously, I'd always said beforehand, we had an agreement with both John [Eustace] and the board that the transfer money that we got for Ebou we wanted to do something longer term with.

"We didn't want to just do something for the here and now. So the transfer fee and the wages that we saved in January we can use because that's there for this season, but unless we could do something for the longer term, we were going to save that money, and then we had the opportunity for Oscar and Derry Murkin. Those transfer fees came in really useful."

Derby County deployed a smart strategy with Ebou Adams sale

The £500k that Portsmouth paid for the midfielder is no secret, and it has been widely reported by many publications over the course of the last few weeks.

However, The Telegraph's John Percy has now reported how Pompey will pay Derby, with the Rams pocketing £375k up front with the rest of the fee to be paid in the summer.

This has allowed Eustace and his recruitment team to make quick moves for the likes of Murkin, while Sanderson and Fraulo's permanent moves were seemingly all but paid for by Portsmouth.

There is no denying Derby's history, and the horrors of the 2021/22 campaign live long in the memory of those at Pride Park. But, David Clowes and Stephen Pearce are doing everything right as they continue to make the club one of the most finaically secure in the entire EFL.