Peterborough United excel at buying and developing players for profit, as seen by Jack Marriott’s sale to Derby County.

Despite his early success at Derby, Marriott struggled to meet expectations and was eventually released after a loan spell.
Marriott’s goal performance versus Derby fell short of his high price tag, resulting in a win for Peterborough.
Peterborough United, renowned as a selling club, has sold many players for substantial sums of money during the mid-2000s, including Jack Marriott.

To remain financially viable, the Posh are notorious for purchasing young players at a low cost, developing them through the youth academy, then selling them for a huge profit.

Owner Darragh MacAnthony has done an excellent job of negotiating high transfer prices for his best players throughout the years.

When the players depart Peterborough, some go on to achieve greater success.

Ivan Toney is a great example, having joined Posh for £650,000 two years previously and left for Brentford for an estimated sum of £5 million in 2020. Toney went on to become an England international and worth an eight-figure transfer fee.

However, some strikers failed to build on their progress at Peterborough, with Posh seemingly hitting the lottery by selling these players when they did, such as Marriott.

Marriott starred for Peterborough United, which contributed to his large sale to Derby County.

Marriott began his career with Ipswich Town, but after several loan moves and only a few games, he was released in 2015.

This prompted him to join Luton Town, then in League Two. Over two seasons with the Hatters, he scored 22 goals in 80 appearances, attracting the attention of teams higher up the divisions.

Peterborough then signed the then-22-year-old for an undisclosed price, with a four-year contract. Marriott only stayed with the Posh for one season, but he excelled and made an impressive transition to League One.

Posh would finish ninth in the 2017/18 season, seven points behind the play-off places. Despite this, Marriott would score 33 goals in 56 games across all competitions, 27 of which came in the league.

As a result, he received numerous trophies, including the club’s Players’ Player, Fans’ Player, and Away Travel Player of the Year. He was also named to both the EFL League One Team of the Season and the PFA League One Team of the Year.

Championship clubs would bid for Marriott, but Frank Lampard’s Derby County would win the battle, signing him for a whopping £3 million.

Marriott did not live up to the expectations at Derby County.

Marriott’s stint at Pride Park began well, but he ultimately failed to justify the Rams’ investment.

In his debut season, Derby reached the Championship play-off final, but were defeated by Aston Villa. Marriott was primarily a backup option, scoring seven goals in 33 league games, just 19 of which were starts.

He would score vital and memorable goals, such as in the EFL Cup encounter against Manchester United, which they would eventually win on penalties. He also scored twice in the play-off semi-finals against Leeds United, securing their place at Wembley Stadium. He also scored at Wembley Stadium in the play-off final, but it was insufficient to ensure their position in the Premier League, and it’s fair to say Lampard didn’t really trust him as the go-to No.9 option, despite his form at Posh and the transfer cost paid.

Following Lampard’s departure in the summer of 2019, the rest of his time at Derby was far from ideal. He scored only three goals in the 19/20 season before being loaned to Sheffield Wednesday in 20/21 and subsequently released.

Jack Marriott’s Derby statistics (all competitions, according to FotMob).

Season

Appearances and Goals

Assists

20/21

6

1 0 19/20 37 3 2 18/19 43 13 4

Overall, Derby’s £3 million investment in Marriott was significant, but with his goal output being relatively low, Peterborough were undoubtedly the victors of the transaction in the end, as clever transfer dealers are often.