West Brom laughed all the way to the bank at Watford FC’s expense over 7-figure striker | OneFootball

The Baggies would have been delighted to make a profit on the sale of Nathan Ellington due to his poor goalscoring record.

Back in 2005, West Brom were reveling in their ‘Great Escape’ triumph, successfully surviving a Premier League campaign when being at the foot of the table at Christmas.

After Gary Megson departed the Hawthorns, Bryan Robson was put in charge of Albion and led the club to the unthinkable, as fans swarmed onto the pitch in jubilation after their final day victory over Portsmouth.

It was then up to the Black Country outfit to build on the success to establish themselves in the top-flight for years to come, and they were active in the summer transfer window to achieve that.

During the window, Albion recruited nine new players into the building, bolstering their forward line with the capture of Nathan Ellington from Wigan Athletic for a reported fee of £3m.

Ellington had netted 24 times for the Latics in the second-tier the previous season, with excitement brewing among the Albion faithful that he could handle the step-up in class and provide enough ammunition at the top end of the pitch.

Ultimately, it didn’t work out that way, with Ellington being a complete flop and failing to justify such a hefty price tag.

However, Albion did manage to miraculously make a profit on him when they sold the forward to Watford a couple of years later, and the club must have been delighted to secure that deal at the time when he had been so ineffective in the blue and white stripes.

Nathan Ellington’s struggles in a West Brom shirt

Nathan Ellington linked up at The Hawthorns full of confidence after such a successful Championship campaign with Wigan Athletic, scoring 24 goals and playing a huge part in the Latics securing automatic promotion back to the big time.

Ellington obviously saw the Baggies as a better project for prosperous Premier League football following their survival the previous term, but it would turn out to be poor judgement on his part as the Baggies subsequently suffered relegation down to the second-tier, with Ellington’s lack of goalscoring ability a contributing factor.

The Bradford-born frontman made 31 appearances for the Baggies during the 2005-06 season, but started only 15 times, netting five goals as the club finished 19th in the table with 30 points.

After his previous goalscoring exploits with Wigan, Ellington seemed like the perfect forward to have in the ranks for a second-tier campaign, as the Baggies expected to be in the mix for immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

But again, Ellington failed to live up to expectations. He did reach double figures but scored only 10 times as he once again fluctuated in and out of the starting XI as weeks went on, starting on 19 occasions from 37 total appearances.

As the forward continued to disappoint, West Brom were eager to part ways and remove Ellington from their books, and they eventually did when selling the now 44-year-old to Watford.

The Baggies ended up making a surprising profit from his departure to the Hornets, receiving a reported fee of £3.25m, a fantastic price for someone who wasn’t able to produce the goods when needed over two seasons.

West Brom’s sale of Nathan Ellington to Watford was justified

The recruitment team at West Brom must have been wondering how they negotiated such a good price for Nathan Ellington, as the forward appeared on the decline following his exit from Wigan Athletic.

The fee was particularly important to helping Albion reinvest into the playing squad, and the additional recruitment helped the Baggies gain promotion the following season with Mowbray at the helm.

After his departure from the West Midlands, West Brom’s sale of Ellington was more than justified, as the forward’s woes in front of goal continued.

After sealing a move to Watford, Ellington scored just four goals in his debut term, while he followed up with three second-tier strikes in 2008-09 with Derby County when being loaned out to Pride Park.

Returning to Watford ahead of the 2009-10 campaign, he scored only one goal for the Hornets before departing on loan again in the winter window to Preston North End, where just two goals came from 18 appearances.

The Baggies certainly robbed the Hornets blind with the price for Ellington, as the Baggies timed his sale to perfection.

It ended up being a masterstroke decision to help restore their place among England’s elite sides at the time, and it will certainly go down as one of the best sales in their history given how poor he turned out to be.