Leicester City laughed to the bank at Middlesbrough’s expense with David Nugent | OneFootball

The sale of David Nugent to Middlesbrough in 2015 net Leicester City £4 million

David Nugent’s time at Middlesbrough didn’t live up to expectations and only lasted two years after his move from Leicester City.

The forward had enjoyed four seasons with the Foxes before signing for the Teesside outfit in a deal worth a reported £4 million in the 2015 summer transfer window.

He helped the club gain promotion to the Premier League in 2014, contributing 20 goals and 11 assists under Nigel Pearson as the club made its return to the top flight by also clinching the Championship title.

But he was unable to make as much of an impact in the Premier League in the following year, with the striker scoring just five times as the team managed a great escape from the drop.

His time at the King Power came to an end after the club finished 14th in the table, with Nugent starting 16 of his 29 appearances in the league.

And Leicester ultimately laughed to the bank with the money Middlesbrough paid to sign him over 10 years ago.

David Nugent sale helped fund historic success for Leicester City

Nugent helped Middlesbrough gain promotion to the Premier League in his first season at the Riverside, although his impact wasn’t nearly as great as when he achieved the same feat with Leicester two years prior.

He contributed eight goals and seven assists in comparison to 20 and 11, and he started just 24 of his 38 appearances for Aitor Karanka’s side.

Meanwhile, during Boro’s promotion success, Leicester clinched a remarkable first ever Premier League title.

The £4 million received from the Teesside outfit was their largest player sale of the 2015 summer transfer window, and that money was reinvested back into improving the first team squad.

Given Leicester signed N’Golo Kanté for a reported £5.6 million, Nugent’s sale alone almost covers that entire fee.

And the midfielder was ultimately a fantastic signing from Caen, and he went on to etch his name in Premier League legend with both the Foxes, as well as Chelsea.

Other signings like Shinji Okazaki, Gokhan Inler, Daniel Amartey, Demarai Gray and Yohan Benaloune weren’t as immediately impactful as the Frenchman, but they all still offered something valuable to Claudio Ranieri’s title-winning squad.

David Nugent repeated the same cycle of disappointment at Middlesbrough

Not only did Nugent miss out on being a part of Leicester’s title triumph, but he also struggled again in the Premier League with Middlesbrough in 2016/17.

The forward made just four appearances in total, all of which came as a substitute, before he signed for Derby County in the January transfer window.

He didn’t score a single goal in his 43 minutes of top flight football under Karanka, and Middlesbrough eventually suffered relegation straight back to the Championship with a 19th place finish.

The striker never got to play in the top flight again, and he never really recaptured his best form from his Leicester days when he was at Derby or, later, Preston North End.

Middlesbrough were unable to return to the Premier League either, with the team settling back into their Championship status.

The £4 million move had a short-term benefit on the club, but it was a bust in the long run.

Meanwhile, Leicester achieved the greatest triumph in their history by winning the title, which they followed up with by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017, and winning a first ever FA Cup in 2021.