It was a busy day for Championship big spenders Derby County on the final day of the summer transfer window.
Derby secured the services of Jacob Butterfield from Huddersfield Town early this afternoon before confirming the signing of Bradley Johnson from Norwich City, two minutes before the window slammed shut.
Johnson is the Rams’ record signing, it is believed it cost the East Midlands club a fee of £5.5 million. This would be the second time the club have broke their record transfer fee this window; Tom Ince’s £4.75 million move from Championship rivals Hull City in July being the previous record.
The 28-year-old midfielder is the Canaries’ current player of the year and was a pivotal part of the promotion winning side last season.
The capture of Johnson came as a surprise to both Norwich and Derby supporters, as there had been no previous discussion of a move before today. This was in stark contrast to the transfer of Butterfield.
Derby had had three previous bids rejected for 25-year-old Butterfield. They finally got their man with the Terriers reluctantly accepting a bid thought to be worth the region of £4 million.
Prior to today, Derby had already spent close to £10 million on summer recruits. The signings of Johnson and Butterfield took the total signings made by the club to nine and a potential spend of £20 million.
A long-term injury sustained to midfielder Will Hughes on the opening day of the season has left the Rams short of creative flair in midfield. New boss Paul Clement has pointed to this as a factor behind the team’s shortcomings so far this season. He has not tasted victory in six attempts since his appointment in the summer.
Now he has received substantial backing from the board, which includes local businessman and multi-millionaire Mel Morris, the pressure will be on for the former Real Madrid coach to turn the team’s fortunes around in the league.
