Derby County were pursuing promotion to the Premier League in January 2014, six years after being relegated to the Championship, despite having a record-low points count of 11.

Steve McClaren had taken over at Pride Park earlier in the season, when Nigel Clough’s four-year association with the Rams ended after a defeat to bitter rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in September 2013, with the former England manager taking over just two days later.

With strong victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, and Doncaster Rovers, the East Midlands team soon rose up the league, putting them in contention for automatic promotion. And, following such a successful autumn, they eventually cracked the top two during the holiday season.

While Leicester City and Burnley would take control of the table in the coming weeks, Derby improved in January, with the signing of George Thorne from West Bromwich Albion proving to be a masterstroke. However, difficulties would soon arise for the midfielder.

George Thorne made a massive impact at Derby County when on loan from West Bromwich Albion.

The then-21-year-old had spent part of the first half of the season at Watford, but he left after eight games, and West Brom believed that the holding midfielder would be better suited to a move to Pride Park in January.

Thorne did not play in eight games when he first joined the Rams, instead serving as an unused substitute. However, he finally got his first chance against Nottingham Forest, and he took it with both hands, playing brilliantly as Derby won 5-0.

McClaren retained the Baggies youngster in the starting lineup for the next month as the East Midlands club nearly lost out on a top-two finish, finishing third and advancing to a play-off semi-final against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Thorne struck a magnificent volley in the second leg at Pride Park to lead Derby to a 6-2 triumph over Brighton. However, they were defeated 1-0 in the final by a spectacular Bobby Zamora goal, as QPR won promotion to the Premier League, leaving the Rams wounded and bruised in London.

However, supporters will not have to wait long to see their number 34 return to DE24, since the two teams have reached a permanent deal.

West Bromwich Albion were the long-term winners of Derby County; George Thorne deal as injuries hit

That summer, Derby signed Thorne on a four-year contract, bidding farewell to West Brom and The Hawthorns, as McClaren hoped to propel his team to the Premier League automatically this time around.

The Rams planned a pre-season tour to Austria, but it proved disastrous for the 21-year-old, who sustained an ACL injury while there and went on to make only three Championship appearances all season.

A hamstring injury would cut short his season, and what appeared to be a massive mistake by West Brom in selling a man who could have gone on to become a major asset was beginning to look like the right move.

Thorne never quite regained the form he demonstrated during his loan time at Derby, and his injury troubles persisted. In 2015/16, he returned to a more consistent amount of game time, appearing in 34 Championship games. However, in the final minutes of the season, a leg break forced the Chatham-born ace to miss a whole year of football.

George Thorne Derby County League Statistics (TransferMarkt)

Season

Apps

Goals

Apps

2013/14 9 1 1 2014/15 3

– 1 2015/16 34 2 4 2016/17

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–

– 2017/18 20

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Thorne returned to the club in October 2017 with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, brought on by Gary Rowett. However, he was never the same player, and his conditioning difficulties persisted until he left the Rams in January 2020. West Brom fans may still breathe a sigh of relief that he did not reach his enormous potential, as it would have been a historic blunder.