Derby Made a Mistake by Signing Lampard, Whose Value Has Fallen by 96%

Derby County will not be content to make up for numbers in the Championship next season, but will be looking to take League Two by storm under Paul Warne after being a big fish in a small pond in League One for too long.

Before the Rams nearly went bankrupt and were relegated to the third tier, with Mel Morris’ crazy spending almost causing the club to go under until David Clowes took control, Derby were routinely the near-man to win promotion to the third League narrowly missed out on the Premier League.

Frank Lampard had put together a fantastic squad in the 2018/19 season that spectacularly beat Leeds United in a play-off semi-final – Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori lined up for Derby on loan from Chelsea – before Lampard’s side unfortunately lost to Aston at Wembley Villa team, which had another Blues face in Tammy Abraham at the helm, failed.

Florian Jozefzoon was another name in the Pride Park camp at the time who was expected to go on and do great things for the Rams, only to go down as a flop after such promising starts in Derby whites.

Florian Jozefzoon’s move to Derby

Jozefzoon eventually fell victim to his own hype when he moved to Derbyshire after regularly wowing crowds at Brentford before moving to the Rams in a record-breaking deal.

The 11-time Suriname international would light up the Championship for the Bees before his failed move to Pride Park, collecting seven goals and seven assists in 39 games in his final season in west London.

The former Bees number seven often had fans leaving their seats at Brentford as bold attacks continued to sneak in, including this free-kick against Burton Albion.

Jozefzoon had no shortage of suitors for his services as his successful 2017/18 season came to an end, and Leeds United were reportedly once interested in the explosive attacker alongside the eventual successful Derby.

However, Derby ended up paying far more than expected for the 5ft 7in striker and Leeds were grateful they weren’t so hasty as to spend £2.75m on a player who would end up flopping for the Rams.

However, this was far too often the case under Morris’s arbitrary reign as chairman, with Derby paying an initial £3m to former Peterborough United star Jack Marriott in the same transfer window, which would increase to £5m due to add-ons .

He would fare far better than Jozefzoon, who scored 17 goals in 86 games for the Rams, but the current Wrexham team would also end up eliminated after he lost his way towards the end of his stay in Derbyshire.

Jozefzoon’s time at Derby

The mega-derby purchase initially fit successfully into the project that Lampard had been driving, playing 34 games for the former Rams manager this playoff season before he moved to Chelsea.

Jozefzoon hasn’t blown anyone away with his performances, with a lackluster showing of two goals and a single assist in those games, but his performances have been steady enough to not immediately set off alarm bells that he could be a possible flop.

It was his second season in Derby colors that things began to unravel, with Jozefzoon unable to maintain a consistent place in the first team under the guidance of new coach Philip Cocu outside of Lampard.

He was repeatedly left out of the first team under the Dutchman, despite having previously played with Cocu at PSV Eindhoven. He made just 14 appearances in the 2019/20 season and only received a paltry assist, reflecting his struggles during this frustrating period of his Rams career.

It was to be his last full season for Derby as he moved to Rotherham United on loan for the 2020/21 season before permanently leaving to play in France with US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole.

This move to Ligue 2 would not cost his new French employers a penny in transfer fees, with Derby subsequently burning through loads of cash and signing the failed Rams winger for a whopping £2.75 million.

Derby’s more consistent approach to spending now really shows how much money they wasted on duds during this period, with the likes of Sonny Bradley and others all joining as free agents and becoming promotion icons in this campaign under Warne.

What Jozefzoon is doing in 2024

The now 33-year-old winger is still holding on to his playing career, playing for Bandirmaspor in the Turkish second division and showing there is still life in his aging legs with four goals and six assists in 26 games.

Although the former Derby flop is still enjoying football at the end of his career, his transfer value has fallen to a lowly figure of just £85,000, according to Football Transfers.

That’s even less than players like James Collins for Derby, who at the age of 33 is also directly facing the possibility of an imminent retirement.

However, the former Luton Town man is still as productive as ever with 18 goals in 45 games in all competitions this season.

Collins is worth just £343,000, which is around £250,000 more than Jozefzoon, even if the former PSV man once cost £2.75m, with Warne and co no doubt previously trying to get as much as possible out of the experienced centre-forward inevitably hangs up his boots soon.

Jozefzoon’s fee in 2018 would also make him Derby’s current most valuable asset, showing the more methodical approach Derby are now taking, particularly with Max Bird and Eiran Cashin potentially earning Warne’s men millions after progressing through their academy structure.

Warne will know that promotion to the Championship will be difficult to overcome at first, having been relegated from the division several times in the past as coach of Rotherham United, but he hopes this Derby side are different and go even further forward can once again become a challenger for promotion to the Premier League.