“Bristol Rovers’ record signing (Andy Tilson, £370,000) was made in 1992,” notesOscar Felix Ramirez. “Do any other league clubs still have a record signing from 30-plus years ago?” We had no idea the early-1990s was such a boom time for record signings, but it seems Bristol Rovers aren’t alone. “Steve Claridge is still Cambridge’s record signing (£252,000),” writes Russell Connor. “They actually have signed him twice, once in 1990 and then again only two years later after interim club Luton didn’t like what they saw.
He seems to have been bought in the same summer of 1992 as Tilson, so not sure who came first.” A couple of you mentioned Tony Agana, who joined Notts County from Sheffield United for £685,000 in 1991.
But it’s generally accepted that Kasper Schmeichel, who arrived from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee in 2009, cost more than Agana.
And so to Scotland, where stereotypes about parsimony live on via the medium of 56-year-old transfer records. “You don’t even have to go down the divisions to find an older transfer record than Bristol Rovers’,” explains Joe Murphy. “That’s not surprising, given that the national record is still Tore André Flo in 2000.