Derby County conducting business with Burnley was a fairly typical theme back then, with the two sides completing numerous deals, but it was two major ones over a two-year period that proved particularly fruitful for the Rams.
Burnley has consistently been the higher-ranked of the two in recent years, with the Clarets achieving what the Rams had hoped for: promotion to the Premier League.
That was eventually enough to place them above Derby in the footballing food chain, and Sean Dyche made good use of that advantage by swooping to steal two of the best players the Rams have had in the last decade— Matej Vydra and Jeffrey Hendrick
Although both the Vydra and Hendrick trades were crushing blows to the Rams at the time, they were unquestionably the winners in the long run, with neither of the two going on to achieve anything during or after their Turf Moor stints.
Derby County got the better end of those big-money moves
Mel Morris is not a popular character among Derby fans, but there is no doubt that he negotiated two brilliant deals for Vydra and Hendrick, both of which put the club in a better position at the time.
Obviously, other financial troubles proved to be the Rams’ undoing, but those figures were massive at the time.
According to Transfermarkt, the £11 million they received for Vydra and the £10.5 million they earned for Hendrick remain the two largest prices the club has ever received.
Vydra joined Turf Moor after an outstanding 2017/18 Championship season in which he scored 21 goals and won the Golden Boot, but his goals were only good enough to earn Derby a play-off position, which they lost in the semi-finals.
The Vydra money was used to sign Jack Marriott and Martyn Waghorn, but most Derby fans would agree that neither came close to filling the vacuum left by the Czech international.
Hendrick was a little different character than Vydra in that his achievement had occurred over a number of years, and having progressed through the Derby youth ranks, there was a stronger sense of attachment to his leaving in 2016.
In a strange quirk of fate though, it was the Hendrick money that financed a move for Vydra in the same window.
Neither Matej Vydra or Jeff Hendrick had successful Burnley spells
Burnley fans, as well as Sean Dyche, would have expected a lot from the duo given the significant expenditure made to bring them to Turf Moor.
However, despite the fact that both movements appeared to work on paper, they never actually did.
Dyche never favoured Vydra, and despite playing for Burnley for four seasons, he never made 100 appearances.
Hendrick was undoubtedly much more favoured and used regularly, notably during the 2017/18 season when he was a major component in a squad that qualified for the Europa League, but his effect faded as his time at Burnley progressed.
At the end of his Burnley stint, he was forced to play on the right wing, and things never went well from there.
The Clarets never received £21.5 million for the duo, and Derby very definitely outperformed the pair in these transfer agreements.
