How Derby County’s transfer window looked 10 years ago - they outspent Arsenal and Tottenham | OneFootball

Derby County's 2015/16 transfer window saw them the highest spenders in the Championship that season

Derby County's 2015/16 transfer window saw them the highest spenders in the Championship that season, with the Rams investing over £20m in pursuit of Premier League promotion.

A decade later, as per Tom Bogert, the club is reportedly set to splash out on a $10 million (£7.3 million) deal for American international Patrick Agyemang from Charlotte FC, which will come close to but won't quite break the club's transfer record.

Looking back 10 years prior though at another time the club were splashing their cash, Derby's net spend that summer was higher than both North London giants Arsenal and Tottenham, so it's worth reflecting on how it became a cautionary tale of expensive mistakes as they look to spend once more.

Derby County's £20m+ transfer gamble that never paid off

Under then-new but now maligned owner, Mel Morris, and manager Paul Clement, the Rams transfer spending spree would see them break their transfer record twice - bringing in a total of 12 new players.

The headline signings told the story of Derby's ambition. Tom Ince arrived from Hull City for a club-record £4.75m, having impressed during a loan spell the previous season with 11 goals in 18 appearances.

However, this record was shattered just weeks later when Derby paid £6m for Norwich City midfielder Bradley Johnson, who is now a coach at the East Midlands outfit.

Jacob Butterfield joined from Huddersfield Town for £4m, while Jason Shackell returned to Pride Park from Burnley for £3m. The spending didn't stop there though as Andreas Weimann's first stint cost Derby around £2.75m, taking the club's total spend that summer to around £20.5 million.

Not every signing was brought in for a significant sum though, with the quartet of Scott Carson, Darren Bent, Alex Pearce, and Chris Baird all joining on free transfers, but with their spend and £0 recouped in fees, it meant they'd outspent Arsenal and Tottenham - although the latter only happened because the north Londoners sold a mountain of players to make sure they made profit for the summer.

Derby County's summer 2015 transfer window wasn't a success business-wise

Arguably the best value for money was Tom Ince, with his performances earning Derby around £5m profit when he departed for Huddersfield Town in 2017.

The winger delivered 37 goals and 15 assists in two-and-a-half seasons, making him one of the few players Derby actually profited from during this period.

Several of the others struggled to justify their hefty price tags. Bradley Johnson never quite recaptured his Championship-winning form from Carrow Road - where he was Norwich's Player of the Year the previous season.

While he became a consistent performer over four seasons, and is well-liked at the club and in the area, Derby never recovered the £6m fee they forked out for his signature.

Another Player of the Season award winner before donning black and white was Jacob Butterfield, whose move proved particularly disappointing. He scored nine times in 89 games - eventually being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday before his contract was terminated.

Derby County's 2015 summer transfers showed the huge risks of overpaying - Patrick Agyemang will hope he doesn't fall foul of this

As Derby County now prepare to invest big in Agyemang, the lessons from their 2015 splurge do remain relevant.

While Tom Ince proved that big-money signings could work, the experiences of Johnson and Butterfield highlighted the risks of overpaying for players who couldn't adapt to new surroundings or live up to the hype.

But with John Eustace having kept Derby in the second-tier last season, the club appear to now be well-knowledgeable about sustainable spending. The Rams lost in the play-offs to Hull City ten seasons ago, could they better that now?