Derby County have welcomed several players through the doors of Pride Park over the years, with some immortalising their names into Rams folklore.
However, for some, it proved a bit more difficult during their time at Pride Park, with some failing to hit the heights that so many expected of them upon their arrival at the club.
Ikechi Anya proved to be one of those players, despite showing evident quality prior to his arrival from Watford ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.
The Scot arrived with huge potential to take the Rams back to the Premier League, but left with his time in the East Midlands erased from many Derby supporters’ memories.
Ikechi Anya showed promise during Watford spell
Before coming to Spain in 2009, Anya flitted throughout the lower echelons of the English football pyramid. In 2012, he returned to the UK with Watford while on loan from Granada.
Gianfranco Zola brought in seven players before the season, including Almen Abdi, Matej Vydra, and Manuel Almunia at Vicarage Road. The Scot was one of them.
The following season, after contributing 14 goals in his debut season with the Hornets and winning over supporters with his electrifying left-side performances, he would permanently join WD18.
Anya would go on to enjoy another successful season, contributing seven assists to Watford’s Premier League promotion.
The wide player from Glasgow struggled in his first season in the premier league, but he still showed off his skills at the greatest level of English football, appearing in 28 league games and five FA Cup matches.
Anya had made 138 appearances for Watford before leaving Vicarage Road, and the news of his presence at Pride Park excited the home crowd. But to put it mildly, his stay in the East Midlands was disappointing.
It all went wrong for Ikechi Anya at Derby County
Anya and Vydra, who had both played on loan for Reading the previous season, were two of the Rams’ biggest acquisitions during the summer transfer window of 2016–17. This brought the two former Vicarage Road teammates back together.
Anya was the new arrival that left Pride Park with the most impression on the supporters, out of all those who played in their season opener against Newcastle United.
In a 4-4-1-1 configuration, he started on the left side of a four-man midfield. His directness and quickness gave the Rams an outlet during the game, and he made a positive first impression on the supporters.
Anya would make an impression in his first season in the East Midlands, appearing in four World Cup qualifiers and making 26 league games, including two caps against England.
After his debut season in the East Midlands, he was to be a very little player for the rest of his time at Derby, which was quite frustrating.
In the 2017–18 season, he made just 16 appearances across all competitions, however he did play a part in both of the play-off semi-final matches against Fulham. Anya’s final game for the team would end in the semi-final at Craven Cottage, when the Rams fell 2-0.
Fans were left wondering whether the player was dealing with injuries, especially in his last season with the team, since he demonstrated the boundless quality he held in his feet throughout his time at Watford. Although he put in a lot of effort in his performances, he struggled with consistency when donning the black and white shirt.
Anya was a crucial component of Watford’s elevation to the Premier League, and the Rams saw value in having him with his experience and adaptability as they attempted to reclaim the top level after their disastrous 2007–08 season.
Anya’s skills are said to have cost Derby £4 million; a four-year contract was agreed upon, and the weekly salary was estimated to be
Fans were left wondering what may have been when Anya left the club. He arrived with a lot of promise, but he fared much below expectations, and the Scottish player may look back on his transfer to the East Midlands as one of his greatest career regrets.
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