Derby County stuck gold with £1m transfer - Liverpool nearly trebled investment | OneFootball

Dean Saunders helped the Rams to a fifth-place finish in his first season

Derby County arguably pulled off one of the shrewdest transfer deals of the late 80s when they signed Dean Saunders from Oxford United in October 1988.

The Rams broke the million-pound barrier for the first time with Saunders' signing, after the Welsh international had scored 12 goals in 37 appearances for Oxford in 1987/88.

Mark Lawrenson, who was the U's manager, received a phone call just over an hour before kick-off against Blackburn Rovers informing him that the striker would be leaving immediately.

This was because the two clubs were owned by Robert Maxwell at the time, and Saunders revealed in an interview for Football Focus that he was offered a car over the phone to sweeten the deal.

Dean Saunders helped Derby County to a fifth-place top flight finish in his first season

Saunders' immediate impact justified the amount spent on him. He scored twice on his debut against Wimbledon just days after signing, ending up with five goals in his first four appearances.

There's no doubt that his fast start helped turn Derby into genuine challengers for the First Division title - and Saunders helped fire the club to fifth-place in his debut season at the Baseball Ground.

By the end of 1988/89, the Welshman had 14 goals in 30 league matches. It was also Derby's best finish since Dave Mackay's team ended fourth in 1975/76.

In an interview for Derby's official website, Saunders said, "I can recall my debut for the club, against Wimbledon, and getting a couple of goals to get me off and running.

"They were great times... I think it was where I became a proper centre-forward and a proper striker," the Welshman added.

By 1991, Saunders had established himself as one of the most prolific strikers in English football - scoring 57 goals in 131 appearances for Derby across three seasons.

Liverpool paid a British record transfer fee to sign Dean Saunders from Derby County

The striker's consistent goalscoring form, which included 17 goals during the Rams' relegation campaign in 90/91, attracted attention from several top clubs.

Leeds United, Everton, Liverpool and even Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough all spoke to Saunders before he joined a new team.

Liverpool ultimately won the race for Saunders' signature, paying a British record transfer fee of £2.9m in July 1991. The deal made £1.9m in profit for Derby - nearly trebling their original £1m investment in just under three years.

The sale was part of a double windfall for the East Midlands outfit, as they also sold defender Mark Wright to Liverpool for £2.2m that summer.

Derby County weren't able to reinvest the Dean Saunders money

Then-Derby manager Arthur Cox, who Saunders mentioned "was great and had us bang at it every single week", was unable to properly strengthen his squad during the club's relegation season.

This was due to Maxwell's [pictured] imposed transfer freeze - but the money generated by the striker's departure helped pay him off and allow new owner Lionel Pickering to begin rebuilding the club.

Also, It remained a British record until Alan Shearer's £3.6m move to Blackburn Rovers in 1992.

Although Liverpool viewed the Welsh striker as the ideal striker partner for his compatriot Ian Rush, Saunders left Merseyside after just one season - even though he did score 23 goals.

For Derby, the transfer remains a testament to their ability to turn Saunders from a relegated striker into a British record signing - which is probably impossible to do in modern football. FLW rank Saunders as the club's 19th greatest ever player of all-time.