Championship outfit Derby County signed Tom Lawrence from Leicester City after a fabulous spell at Ipswich Town.
Derby County have been renowned for spending big in pursuit of promotion and last summer was no different.
Despite snapping up the likes of Sam Winnall, Curtis Davies and Tom Huddlestone on bargain deals, The Rams also paid £5 million to make Leicester City’s Tom Lawrence the fourth most expensive player in the club’s history, as reported by the BBC.
But based on Lawrence’s form last season during a loan spell at Ipswich Town, there were few who would questioned that fee at the time.
The former Manchester United youngster appeared to be putting on his own Goal of the Season competition at Portman Road, netting nine mostly spectacular individual strikes for Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich. He set up another nine too.
But since completing that big-money move to Derby, these moments of magic have been comparatively sparse and the Welsh international has been subjected to criticism from fans who, quite justifiably, expected a lot more.
Though there has been an upturn in Lawrence’s form in the last few weeks. Two-goal Cameron Jerome’s double hogged the headlines as Derby breathed fresh life into their play-off hopes with a 3-1 win against Cardiff on Tuesday, but Lawrence’s hard-working display caught the eye.
Are Derby fans finally starting to see a return on the club’s hefty investment?
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