Derby County managed to win promotion back up to the Championship by being wheeler-dealers to a degree, in the market for cheap gems who would then go on to show their immense worth.
The likes of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, James Collins, Sonny Bradley and Curtis Nelson were all purchased for £0, with Paul Warne's side having the last laugh over these deals with their final position in the automatic promotion spots in League One.
That named quartet will now long to be etched into Pride Park folklore even further by starring in the division above and taking Derby to the next level, joining this cult hero in the history books potentially who was a diamond found in the rough all the way back in Derby's Premier League hay-day of the nineties.
Paulo Wanchope's time at Derby
Wanchope would arrive onto the scene at Derby in 1997 as an unknown entity from his native Costa Rica, a bold signing from the then Premier League Rams for a fee in the region of £600k.
The exciting gem would never look back, however, after arriving in England as a flashy new import with 25 goals mustered up from 77 games which included 13 in just one top-flight season during the 1997/98 campaign.
Player
Games played
Goals scored
1. Dean Sturridge
127
35
2. Paulo Wanchope
72
23
3. Malcolm Christie
92
22
4. Deon Burton
118
22
5. Franceso Baiano
64
16
Wanchope's debut goal for the Rams, even if he didn't go on to become the club's second-highest goalscorer in Premier League history, would have been enough for him to become a cult figure alone with a silky solo run going unchallenged by multiple Manchester United shirts before the Costa Rican maverick simply stroked the ball home at Old Trafford.
Going on to play for both West Ham United and Manchester City after the Rams, where the goals didn't dry up with a combined 44 strikes registered for those clubs, Derby reaped the rewards for risking it all by giving Wanchope a chance relocating over from South America.
If this same golden move went through in today's inflated market, Derby would still be thanking their lucky stars that a deal went through when looking at what Wanchope's value would now be via TotallyMoney's Transfer Index.
Going up to the second tier now, Derby will aim to replicate this absolute steal by recruiting even more impressive cheap gems.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
Wanchope's value in 2024
According to TotallyMoney, Wanchope's deal would still stand at a reasonable £5.5m with the bank not depleted too much at Pride Park in the process.
That would still be viewed as an unbelievable piece of business on the end of the Rams, who have splashed far more expensive amounts on the likes of Matej Vydra up top, who was signed for £8m in 2016 and only managed to net two more goals than the cheaper and more beloved Wanchope.
The now 47-year-old former Rams great still keeps tabs on how Derby are doing under Warne, stating that he believes the ex-Rotherham United manager can steer the team back to playing Premier League football over time in a recent interview.
Before any talk becomes too over-the-top, Derby will be more than happy with just surviving in the Championship for the time being after nearly going bust not too long ago.
Still, if they do return to the top flight eventually, they would love to have someone as daring as Wanchope in their ranks enthralling supporters with mazey runs and crucial goals.