The summer transfer window has been and gone, and for Derby County, it was quite the few months.
After letting go of the likes of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Tom Barkhuizen as free agents at the end of the season, the Rams brought in 13 new players.
The key addition of Carlton Morris was the first arrival, while big money was spent on Patrick Agyemang (£5.8m) and Max Johnston (£3.5m).
It’s been just three years since David Clowes rescued Derby from administration, and in their first proper summer of spending, they have shown their financial strength. However, there may be questions about where the club stands heading into January.
Where Derby County stand with PSR
PSR (Profit & Sustainability Rules) has been a trigger word for the Rams in recent years, but there is positive news despite a busy summer.
Speaking exclusively to EFL Analysis our finance expert, Adam Williams, has explained where Derby stand. He said: “Derby have spent around £11m this summer in transfer fees alone, although that doesn’t include the fee for Carlton Morris, which hasn’t been reported anywhere as far as I can see.
“The players they signed for fees – Lewis Travis, Patrick Agyemang and Max Johnston – all signed four-year deals. So that’s £11m of fees amortised over four years, which comes to £2.75m annually. That’s £2.75m which is added to their amortisation figure, which goes towards the bottom line, which is what PSR is calculated based on.
“In the Championship, you can lose £41.5m over a rolling three-year period, so £2.75m per year isn’t really going to move the needle much. It’s the wages which end up costing most of the clubs who do get penalised for PSR breaches.
“We don’t have the financial figures from 2024-25 yet, but Derby lost £14m in 2023-24. When you add back PSR-exempt expenses like investment in infrastructure, the academy, women’s team, charity initiatives and so on, that £14m is probably going to be halved for the purposes of PSR.
“That gives them the capacity to lose £34.5m across 2024-25 and 2025-26 before they breach PSR. In fact, after allowable expenses, it’s probably more like £50m.
“Eiran Cashin was a ‘pure profit’ sale last season when he was sold to Brighton for £9m. Against that, they added maybe £2m of amortisation costs. But that’s before you consider the amortisation that they have shed in the last two years with players leaving on free transfers.
“Long story short, even if Derby have increased the wage bill to the extent that they are running a £20m-a-year operating loss, they are still going to have loads of headroom in this PSR cycle. If they wanted to go and spend another £10m in January, they could do.
“If, of course, the owner David Clowes is willing to underwrite that investment. That’s where we come to the issue of cold, hard cash, which is a different analysis. But PSR isn’t a problem for them.”
The Rams’ squad has improved massively from 12 months ago
While an obvious statement, it must be stated just how much improved Derby are heading into the next stages of the season – particularly when compared to this time last year.
The Rams announced their 25-man squad on Thursday evening, with just 10 players who started the 2024/25 campaign involved. However, it must be said Curtis Nelson was not registered as he recovers from injury.
Nevertheless, the work that has been done to make this team a competitive Championship side has been extraordinary, and John Eustace’s ambitions have been matched.
Now, the task is to show this on the pitch, starting against West Bromwich Albion when Derby return to action after the international break.
