Four Derby County players the club wish they had never sold
Derby County have done some big buiness over the last 10 years in terms of transfers but there are always players you look back at with regret.
Sometimes it's hard to turn down the cash, other times it is even more difficult to convince a player to stay when there is the offer of Premier League football.
But when you lose players of real quality, it naturally has an impact on the team and it always begs the eternal question as to what Derby could have achieved if they had stayed.
READ MORE: Lars-Jorgen Salvesen breaks silence on Derby County injury and sets return target
READ MORE: John Eustace's feelings clear as Derby County refuse to lay down arms despite devastating blow
Here DerbyshireLive looks back at four players that the club may have regretted selling.
Will Hughes
The current Crystal Palace midfielder is having another excellent season in the top flight and he is one of those players that Derby fans would love to see finish his career at Pride Park.
Having come through the club's academy system before going on to enjoy first-team success, Hughes was sold to Watford in 2017 for an initial £5m, rising by a further £4m if various add-ons were met.
At the time of his departure, Derby were pushing for promotion under Gary Rowett and while Derby reached the playoffs, the following season, they couldn't get across the line as they were eventually beaten by Fulham in the semi-finals. Hughes would later go on to play for Watford in the top flight, and, when they were relegated, he played a critical role in their return to the top table of English football.
Crystal Palace eventually came knocking, and Hughes has been a key performer for the Eagles this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions. Had he stayed at Derby, though, and played on the team that made the playoffs in the following season, he may have secured the Premier League promotion with Derby that he craved.
Matej Vydra
The striker had an incredible season in the 2017-18 campaign as he finished with 21 goals in the Championship earning him the golden boot.
Predictably, that kind of form was always going to lead to interest from clubs in the top flight, and so it was Burnley who laid the cash on the table. An £11m offer proved too good to refuse for Derby, who regrettably had to part company with top scorer.
He had been an integral part of why they finished sixth in the table under Gary Rowett but just didn't quite have enough in the squad to seal promotion.
When Rowett left for Stoke in May 2018, Frank Lampard was appointed manager and he did a wonderful job of guiding the club to the playoff final which they subsequently lost to Aston Villa.
Some strong Premier League loans, in Harry Wilson, Mason Mount, and Fiyako Tomori, undeniably helped them, but the absence of a 20-goal forward may have been enough to turn Derby into promotion winners. Had Vyrdra remained under Lampard who knows what the club would have gone on to achieve.
Jeff Hendrick
Another player who ended up leaving for Burnley, although that move took place a couple of seasons before Vydra hot-footed it to Turf Moor.
At the time of his exit, Hendrick had built an excellent reputation as an all-action midfielder who could chip in with the odd goal.
He was key to Derby reaching the playoffs in 2014 and 2016, and it was perhaps inevitable that the longer the Rams missed out on top-flight football, the more susceptible they would have been to offers.
Eventually, the Premier League did come calling, and when he moved to Burnley, it was for a reported club-record fee of £10.5m. That's hard money to turn down, but losing one of your best players does hurt you in the long run.
When you look back at these type of deals, you often think what would have been achieved if they had stayed. A question that Derby fans have no doubt asked themselves.
Hendrick would later win a move to Newcastle United but it never quite worked out for him at St James' Park. He made just 25 league appearances for the club and had loans with QPR, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
Has been a free agent since leaving Newcastle last summer.
Tom Ince
Tom Ince was an exciting player to watch when he was in form and he was certainly prolific over a two-and-a-half-year spell at Pride Park.
He scored 37 league goals and that form was always going to attract attention. Huddersfield Town, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, eventually made their play and signed the former Liverpool man for an undisclosed fee in 2017.
He was subsequently sold to Stoke for £10m after just one season and had he just stayed put at Derby for one more season who knows what might have happened.
One of those players that on his day was a joy to watch but along with Blackpool, Derby was his most productive spell.
If Rowett had been able to call on him for the 2017-18 season, when Derby reached the playoffs, players like Ince are usually the difference. Ince's form had dipped by the time Rowett arrived and didn't quite fit into the style of play, but you often wonder what he could have achieved.
