Derby County pulled a blinder with shock Nottingham Forest transfer | OneFootball

Derby convinced Commons to make the move down the A52 on a free transfer and it turned out even better than they would've expected.

Derby County pulled a blinder by signing Kris Commons from A52 rivals Nottingham Forest on a free transfer back in 2008.

Commons infamously crossed the East Midlands derby divide upon the expiration of his Forest contract after four seasons with the Reds, a move which made him particularly unpopular with Forest’s supporters.

The Newark-born midfielder was actually a boyhood Forest fan, but he became an integral part of Derby’s post-relegation rebuild in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Commons was a scorer of crucial goals, and he produced several huge moments in a Derby shirt, before ultimately leaving to join Celtic after two-and-a-half years of service.

Commons produced several huge moments at Derby

Commons became one of Derby’s key men during the early part of Nigel Clough’s reign at Pride Park.

He produced numerous moments of magic, often at particularly crucial times, to help keep Derby in the Championship.

After coming through the ranks at Stoke City, Commons spent four years at Forest, where he was a big success, recording 15+ goal contributions in each of the Reds’ three seasons in League One.

With his contract expiring at the end of the 2007-08 season, Commons made the controversial decision to up sticks down the A52, becoming the first player to leave Forest for Derby since Gary Charles in 1993.

He has since told BBC Scotland’s Sportsound that he was “desperate” to stay at Forest but felt insecure about his future.

Commons said: “I had to make a decision that was unpopular with the Forest faithful but I felt like I’d been backed into a corner where I couldn’t get out.”

As a result, Commons made the move to the Rams and joined Derby the summer after their infamous 11-point Premier League effort.

Although his time with Derby was injury-hit at times, Commons was a key figure in ensuring the Rams survived in the Championship, scoring crucial goals against Coventry City and Blackpool in the 2008/09 season.

He scored five league goals and set up nine that season, but his biggest moments came in the two cup competitions.

The midfielder famously scored a screamer with his left foot to defeat Manchester United 1-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, a result which remarkably came with Derby in the middle of a run of just one win in nine games in the league.

Just over a month later, in Nigel Clough’s first game as Rams boss, Commons netted a late winner as Derby came from 2-0 down to defeat Forest 3-2 in an FA Cup fourth round replay and secure their first win at the City Ground since 1971.

Derby eventually finished that season 18th in the Championship, eight points clear of the bottom three.

The 2009-10 season saw Commons make just 20 appearances in the league, contributing three goals and five assists.

His best form in a Derby shirt actually came in the 2010/11 season, just before his exit. Commons had 13 league goals (the highest total of his career), from just 26 games, when Celtic bought the Scottish international for £300,000 in January 2011.

While the fee they received for him was relatively small given his ability, Commons had just six months remaining on his contract. When you consider the moments he provided Derby with, having joined on a free transfer, he’s certainly one of the best value-for-money deals the Rams have had in recent years.

Commons was also a success at Celtic

After leaving Derby, Commons went on to spend five-and-a-half seasons at Celtic, where he was also a huge success.

He won five Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup, with his five league titles the first five of the Bhoys’ famous nine consecutive titles during the 2010s.

Commons ended his time at Celtic Park with 70 goals and 54 assists from 174 games in all competitions – a phenomenal record at any level of football.

He enjoyed the best goalscoring season of his career in 2013/14, when he netted 27 times in the league from just 34 games and also contributed 11 assists. Unsurprisingly, that run of form saw him win PFA Scotland’s Premiership Player of the Season Award.

Commons later played five games in the Scottish Championship for Hibernian during a loan deal in 2016/17, scoring twice.

He was released by Celtic in the summer of 2017. Commons was briefly linked with a return to Hibs, this time on a permanent deal, but those links never materialised, and he ultimately called time on his career.

A 12-cap Scottish international, Commons experienced the very highest levels of football on several occasions. He finished his career with 13 Champions League appearances played from start to finish when Celtic famously beat Barcelona 2-1 in 2012.

From Derby’s point of view, while it would’ve obviously been disappointing to lose a player of such quality for just £300,000, some of the moments that Commons produced in a Rams shirt will be remembered for generations, making the fact that they picked him up on a free transfer a masterstroke.