Peterborough United hit the jackpot with 3m Derby County transfer

Known as a selling club, Peterborough United has sold a number of players for significant sums of money during the mid-2000s, including Jack Marriott.

The Posh have a reputation for acquiring young players at a deep discount or nurturing them via the junior academy, then turning a tidy profit by selling them to maintain their viability.

Over the years, owner Darragh MacAnthony has done a fantastic job of haggling with rival teams to obtain significant transfer payments for his finest players.

After leaving Peterborough, a few of the players went on to achieve greater success.

The best example is Ivan Toney, who played for England and left for Brentford in 2020 for an estimated £5 million after joining Posh for £650,000 two years earlier.

However, other strikers, like Marriott, did not really capitalize on their success at Peterborough, and Posh seemed to have struck gold when they sold these players.

Marriott starred at Peterborough United which led to his big sale to Derby County

After only a few appearances and multiple loan moves, Marriott’s career at Suffolk Town came to an end in 2015.

As a result, he joined League Two team Luton Town. He would score 22 goals in 80 appearances over the course of two seasons for the Hatters, drawing interest from teams in higher leagues.

The 22-year-old would then sign a four-year contract with Peterborough for an undisclosed sum. Marriott would only play for the Posh for one season, but in that one season, he thrived and went to League One in style.

Posh ended the 17/18 season seven points outside of the play-off spots, having finished in ninth place. In spite of this, Marriott managed to score 33 goals in 56 games across all competitions, including 27 league games.

As a result, he was named the club’s Players’ Player, Fans’ Player, and Away Travel Player of the Year, among other honors. He was also included to the PFA League One Team of the Year and the EFL League One Team of the Season.

Championship teams would vie for Marriott, but Frank Lampard’s Derby County would emerge victorious, as Marriott signed for an alleged £3 million.

Marriott failed to live up to the hype at Derby County

Marriott had a good start to his tenure at Pride Park, but ultimately the Rams would not find value in him.

Derby got to the Championship play-off final in his debut season, but they lost to Aston Villa there. With only 19 starts in 33 league games, Marriott mostly served as a backup. In 33 games, he scored seven goals.

However, he would score significant goals that people would remember, like the one he scored in the EFL Cup match against Manchester United, which they ultimately won on penalties. Additionally, he scored twice against Leeds United in the play-off semi-finals to secure their trip to Wembley. In the play-off final at Wembley, he also scored, but it was insufficient to guarantee their spot in the Premier League.

Following Lampard’s departure in the summer of 2019, the remainder of his tenure at Derby was by no means as successful. He would end up with just three goals for the 19/20 campaign before being released and loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday for the 20/21 campaign.

Overall, £3 million was a huge investment from Derby for Marriott, but with his goal output being relatively poor, Peterborough were certainly the winners of the deal in the end.

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