Derby County deal with Watford must never be repeated – he became a missing man
Derby County needed reinforcements quickly in August 2016. They had started the new campaign poorly under Nigel Pearson, and were already towards the wrong end of the table by the time the transfer window started to come to an end.
The Rams left their business late, bringing in the likes of Chris Weale and Matej Vydra on permanent deals, while James Wilson joined on loan from Manchester United for the season.
Ikechi Anya was also brought in by Pearson, as he looked for players with experience winning promotion to the Premier League to make their way into his squad and take the East Midlands outfit back to the top flight.
He cost Derby around £4m from Watford, joining on a four-year contract after making 28 appearances in England’s highest division with the Hornets in 2015/16 and it looked as though they finally had the winger they needed to help push for promotion.
Anya showed signs of hope in his first year at Derby
Anya made his debut for the Rams against Newcastle United in the Championship just a couple of weeks after putting pen-to-paper on his contract, but was unable to do anything about the dominant Magpies as they ran out 2-0 winners at Pride Park.
He started once again as Ipswich Town took all three points with them back to Suffolk just days later before the then 28-year-old found the back of the net in black-and-white for the very first time.
Derby took the lead through their new winger away to Bristol City, but they were unable to hold on for just their second win of the season, as Aaron Wilbraham equalised in the 94th minute for the hosts at Ashton Gate.
Nevertheless, the early signs were good with Anya, and he registered his first assist in his next match as the Rams were beaten 2-1 by Blackburn Rovers.
Yet these would prove to be his last goal involvements until February, as Pearson made way for Steve McClaren and the number played in a variety of positions out wide, including at left-back.
The former Watford ace registered just one more assist in 2016/17, setting up Jacob Butterfield for a late equaliser against Huddersfield Town in the final weeks of the campaign. It had not quite been the first year that Derby had hoped for from Anya, and the situation was only going to get worse.
Anya became a missing man at Derby
There was a platform to build on for the ex-Scotland international, however, the 2017/18 season proved to be difficult and he spent the majority of his time out of the squad.
Anya made just seven league appearances as the Rams finished in the top six under Gary Rowett, with a short cameo against Nottingham Forest in March 2018 proving to be his last game until the second leg of the play-offs away to Fulham.
Failure to win promotion saw Derby stick around in the Championship for yet another season, and for their number eight, game time was about to be lessened even further and there was a huge amount of confusion as to where he actually was at the club.
With two years still left on his contract, Anya could still have a way out of Pride Park, but instead he chose to run down his deal, eventually leaving in the summer of 2020, having not made an appearance since 2018.
It was a move that never truly worked out, with Watford benefiting greatly as they gained £4m, while the Rams were left with a player who never lived up to expectations.
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