The midfielder hasn’t been great by any stretch for Derby, and a return to Norwich would hardly see the fans take to the streets in protest.
QPR’s Conor Washington in action with Derby County’s Bradley Johnson
Derby County fans were in for a shock recently as their midfielder Bradley Johnson practically issued a ‘come and get me’ plea to his former club Norwich City, as reported by the Eastern Daily Press, but few of those fans would be overly disappointed if he departed for his former employers.
The 30-year-old signed for Derby in 2015 for a then club record fee of £6m, as reported by the Derby Telegraph, but while there have been glimpses of ability to justify that price tag, it hasn’t been consistent enough – and the goalscoring form Johnson showed at Norwich hasn’t been recreated at Pride Park.
Despite playing in a deeper central midfield role, Johnson scored 15 goals in 44 Championship games as Norwich won promotion to the Premier League in 2015, and that’s presumably why Derby paid so much for him as they wanted him to do similar in a white shirt.
However, Johnson has scored eight goals in two seasons at Derby, so when supporters see him saying things like, “if Norwich came in for me I’d never turn them down, anyway,” as reported by the Eastern Daily Press, you can understand why some would gladly be of the opinion that they were welcome to him.
Leeds’ Pablo Hernandez in action with Derby’s Bradley Johnson
It seemed a bit of a panic buy at the time, with Johnson’s arrival coming on the summer 2015 transfer deadline day, and while the 30-year-old offers a physical presence in the middle and hasn’t been bad by any stretch, there won’t be many suggesting that – even in this current financial climate – Johnson is a £6m player.
Under Gary Rowett, we may see Johnson have a bigger role, but if Daniel Farke’s Norwich side come calling for the midfielder, then the Rams shouldn’t put up much of a fight as they can probably do better – especially if they recoup the majority of the fee.
Liverpool’s Divock Origi in action with Derby’s Bradley Johnson
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