£15m claim made as Derby County man set to seal exit

Derby County’s previous ownership valued left-back Lee Buchanan at £10m to £15m during their time at the helm in the East Midlands, according to journalist Ryan Conway.

The 21-year-old was is of the Rams’ more promising young players following the departures of the likes of Festy Ebosele, Dylan Williams and Luke Plange, with the latter two being sold to Chelsea and Crystal Palace earlier this calendar year when they were still in administration.

Making 30 league appearances during the 2021/22 campaign, he was an important part of a squad that fought bravely against relegation and only just missed out on Championship football again next season despite being deducted a mammoth 21 points.

And the full-back looked set to remain at the club beyond this summer despite their demotion to League One and interest in his signature, with an option in his existing contract being triggered to keep him tied to the club for a further 12 months.

This clause was activated when the Rams were still in administration though and with the player’s representatives disputing the validity of this extension, the EFL and club have agreed that he should be sold on for a compensation fee with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen set to recruit him.

According to Alan Nixon, the English side are expected to generate around £400,000 for his services, a way smaller fee than that £15m valuation.

The Verdict:

There was no way anyone was even going to pay £10m for the 21-year-old, let alone £15m but you can understand why such a high price tag was slapped on him considering his promise.

Derby had and still have some extremely talented young players at their disposal, with the likes of Max Bird, Jason Knight, Liam Thompson, Louie Sibley and Eiran Cashin all likely