Martyn Waghorn was a regular goalscorer in his time at Portman Road, and earned the Tractor Boys a hefty sum as a result
Martyn Waghorn has over 100 goals in his career and has been a constant on the scoresheet in the EFL for the past decade and a half, with ten different clubs making use of his skills.
The attacker began his football career with Sunderland and has since played for a number of clubs before joining Derby County in League One.
This is his second stint with the Rams, having transferred to Pride Park from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2018 for a fee of around £5 million.
That was at a time when the striker was at the height of his powers, having established himself as a top-tier striker with a goal-laden period at Rangers in Scotland, allowing Town to capitalise on his prolific nature in front of goal both on the pitch and in the pocket.
Ipswich Town landed a bargain when signing Martyn Waghorn from Rangers
Waghorn, who came through the ranks at Sunderland as a youth, spent loan periods at Charlton Athletic and Leicester City, and was already demonstrating his innate ability to reach the back of the goal as a teenager.
In 2010, the Foxes paid £3 million for the striker after he scored 12 goals in 43 league outings. However, he struggled after making the move permanent, leading to a loan move to Millwall before being released to Wigan Athletic.
After a 28-goal season, his stock skyrocketed over the following season, and he added another 16 goals upon his team’s promotion to the top tier, demonstrating his clinical shooting abilities.
Ipswich paid a reputed £1 million to sign him in the summer of 2017, and he rewarded their investment with a fantastic season in front of goal.
16 strikes to Waghorn’s name in his debut season made him the top scorer for the club in the league that campaign, with Mick McCarthy’s side comfortably sitting in mid-table by the end of the campaign.
| Martyn Waghorn’s Ipswich Town Stats | ||||
| Appearances | 46 | |||
| Starts | 39 | |||
| Goals | 16 | |||
| Assists | 11 | |||
| Goals/90 | 0.42 | |||
| Source: FBRef | ||||
In his first three league matches, he scored four goals, including a brace against Millwall that led to a 4-3 victory and the winning goal against Barnsley on his EFL debut.
Waghorn was frequently the guy to get the Suffolk side out of trouble with key scores; whether he was sprinting away from the backline or pouncing on a loose ball in the area, he was always ready to score.
Ipswich Town used to be a regular Championship also-ran, finishing in mid-table for 17 consecutive seasons before dropping to League One in 2019.
The Tractor Boys were a far cry from today, with only a single play-off campaign to show for 14 years worth of efforts in the second division, leaving great players like Waghorn vulnerable to teams with loftier goals.
Ipswich Town made a large profit with Martyn Waghorn.Half a decade ago, Derby County aimed to improve on their previous season’s failed play-off campaign and identified Town’s striker as the key player for the upcoming season.
With a £5 million price on the table, it looked like a great profit for just one year’s investment in the goal-scorer, leaving the Tractor Boys keen to cash in and thank Waghorn for the memories.
They scored a lot of goals and made a lot of money, so Ipswich will see this as a fantastic commercial opportunity.
Derby’s play-off campaign ended in loss, despite Waghorn’s 13 goals in the season’s final match at Wembley Stadium.
The front-man spent time at Coventry City and Huddersfield Town before returning to County at the age of 33 last summer. He joined on trial and impressed Paul Warne in the dugout after playing in Craig Forsyth’s testimonial match.
Waghorn was never as prolific as he was after leaving Portman Road, but his one and only season in Suffolk provided the Tractor Boys with a significant profit for what they received.
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