Breaking News: Derby made a fortune by selling an injury-prone star who would have cost £23 million in 2024.

After you get promoted, higher-up suitors will undoubtedly be tempted to see your best qualities.

In order to advance to the Championship, Derby County will be anxious to see if they can retain all of their best players from their League One success story. Eiran Cashin is one name that stands out as someone who may soon leave Pride Park.

Cashin is developing quickly and may be prepared for a move up to the top division as a result of his nearly constant presence in the third division (52 games total across all competitions), which has been linked to a move all the way up to the Premier League in the past.

Derby would demand a substantial sum of money to part ways with any member of their group at the moment, but this has worked in their advantage in the past when they sold this former star in 2001 for a sizable sum of money, only for him to fail in his new environment.

Seth Johnson’s Derby tenure

When Rams fans reflect on Derby’s past, they will remember Seth Johnson as a beloved player from that era. The feisty midfielder made a whopping 143 appearances over his two tenure at Pride Park.

His most significant stint, during which he achieved two goals and five assists in 71 games, eventually resulted in a significant move away from Derbyshire.

Johnson would go on to be remarkably capped by England during this period of his career after salvaging a point in his rookie season against Wimbledon, which saw the Rams finish just above the relegation zone in the top tier. Johnson scored this header (above) against Wimbledon.

Leeds must have believed that betting on the tough-minded midfield player—who received an absurd total of 40 yellow cards while wearing a Rams uniform—would pay off at the beginning of the new century, as a substantial £7 million bid was approved for his services.

In a move that should have propelled him to prominence, the now-retired 45-year-old would wind up having an injury-plagued spell at Elland Road. His career would ultimately come to an early end at the age of 28 when he moved back to Derby due to these persistent fitness concerns.

Derby would have felt some satisfaction for how much they were able to get out of Leeds at the time, regardless of how the Rams felt for one of their former stars moving on and having such a nightmare, according to TotallyMoney’s Transfer Index.

In every season since 1992, Totally Money has acquired the top 100 most expensive transactions ever made in each of the top five European leagues. Equipped with an abundance of past financial records, they have computed the current value of former football players, accounting for the notable inflation rate.

The 2024 transfer value of Seth Johnson

Despite only making 59 appearances for the Whites in four seasons, the move was a failure due to his high £7 million price tag at the time.

But according to TotallyMoney, Johnson would have cost Leeds an incredible £23 million if the same calamitous transfer had occurred today.

To put things in even more perspective, that would make Johnson an even more costly purchase than Joel Piroe and Ethan Ampadu put together in Daniel Farke’s Leeds team right now.

Leeds would have been more than willing to part ways with Johnson in 2005 for a return home on a free transfer, even though they were a bit miffed at having to pay £7 million for the player’s best season total of just 26 games at Elland Road.

Before a knee injury forced him to announce his early retirement, he bows out by helping the Rams advance to the Premier League in his final career game. Derby fans can only hope that their current crop of talent will continue to develop and not simply leave in the summer.

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