£600k Derby County gamble landed them an icon - He'd bank Rams big profit | OneFootball

The forward was incredible for the Rams, and he is fondly remembered at Pride Park to this day.

Derby County's Premier League run of the late 1990s and early 2000s is still fondly remembered by many as one of the club's greatest eras as the East Midlands outfit went through a huge period of change.

The Rams left the Baseball Ground for Pride Park Stadium at the end of their first season back in the top flight in 1997 but it was a year that proved to be momentous as Jim Smith engineered his team to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League.

The highs of the year before were always going to be difficult to top as they left it until the second-to-last game of the 1995/96 campaign to win promotion out of Division One, leading to a busy summer.

Derby had a strong core, and after a good start that saw them comfortably in the middle of the pack, Smith looked to make some more improvements - leaving it until March 1997 to sign a player that would go on to be a cult hero.

Paulo Wanchope made an instant impact at Derby County

Not much was known of Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope when he arrived in England for just £600k from his hometown side Herediano, and he had just been rejected by a side lower down the leagues before the Rams were able to capture him.

There was no denying that it was a risky signing, and at just 20 years old, there was a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders to make an instant impact at the Baseball Ground.

Wanchope made his debut for Derby just a couple of weeks after putting pen-to-paper on his contract, lining up to face Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United team at Old Trafford.

It was a game that few saw the away side coming out of with three points, but they started well with Ashley Ward opening the scoring just before the half-hour mark.

The Rams continued to press, and their new number 26 picked up the ball inside his own half before he started to glide through with it, beating every single Red Devils midfielder and defender before firing past Peter Schmeichel to double his team's lead.

The goal was voted as the club's best in their history in 2009, and it can be regarded as the most iconic Derby moment in Premier League history as they held on for a famous 3-2 win.

Paulo Wanchope continued to impress for Derby before earning them a healthy profit

The following season was an excellent one for Wanchope as he truly got to grips with the Premier League, playing 32 games as the Rams finished in the top half of the top flight for the first time since 1989.

He found the back of the net 13 times for the East Midlands outfit in one of their greatest seasons in the last forty years, establishing himself as one of the early greats of Pride Park as the club made the switch from the Baseball Ground.

Derby improved once again the season after, as they finished eighth in the Premier League, with Wanchope once again providing the goods on a regular basis - ending the campaign with nine goals and two assists.

It was a year that proved to be the peak of Smith's tenure, and his Costa Rican star departed in the summer for West Ham United. However, the Rams did bring in a healthy profit as the Hammers paid £3.5m for him, but he was only able to show his talent for one year at Upton Park.