Derby County have seen plenty of squad churn over the past few years as short-term deals have caused players to come and go from Pride Park.
That has largely been, in part, due to the impact of administration and the rebuild that was required over the campaigns that followed.
The summer that just passed was no different, with Paul Warne ringing the changes as he looked to prepare the team for the challenge of the Championship.
With it came emotional goodbyes for the likes of Conor Hourihane, Joe Wildsmith, Korey Smith and Martyn Waghorn for a second time.
The latter of which had plenty of memorable moments for Derby at Pride Park but is now onto his next chapter.
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Martyn Waghorn confirms transfer to Northampton Town
Waghorn made an exit from Derby over the summer, following a short second spell with the Rams in the 2023/24 season.
The striker made 27 appearances in the campaign, scoring seven goals which included a stunning hat-trick against Peterborough United.
After securing promotion, Waghorn was no longer in the plans at Derby and was made a free agent over the summer.
It took a while for the 34-year-old to land a new club, but it has now been confirmed that he has signed up with Northampton Town on a six-month deal.
The Cobblers currently sit 18th in League One, having picked up just four wins and three draws from 13 matches played.
Speaking on Northampton Town’s official website, manager Jon Brady said: “Martyn is a player with bags of experience and a lot of quality.
“He has played in the Championship for most of his career and he will bring that knowledge and pedigree with him.”
It will be interesting to follow how the striker does back in the division after leaving Derby, with the short-term deal creating questions over his longer-term future.
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Martyn Waghorn’s best Derby County moment
It’s fair to say that Waghorn will be remembered as a hero at Derby, perhaps not in the way that he expected when signing at the club.
The striker joined from Ipswich Town for a fee worth an initial £5million, with hopes of earning promotion to the Premier League.
In his three-year spell, a play-off final defeat then turned sour as the Rams were plunged into the uncertainty of a relegation scrap.
His best moment came in the final match of his first spell, where nerves of steel were required from the penalty spot to score an equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday.
It earned Derby a point that eventually kept them up, stopping the side from being relegated to League One.
Knowing what followed with administration, there is a chance that if the club was relegated that campaign, then it could’ve plunged the side into League Two with all of those following points deductions.
If that were the case, then there may have been no guarantee of there being a Derby County as we know it.
For that reason, it secured Waghorn’s status as a Derby hero, which he further cemented with some big contributions in a second spell in the east Midlands.
