Chesterfield should seek repeat of Hull City, Swansea City transfer sequence | OneFootball

With Chesterfield winger James Berry getting linked to Championship clubs, Town may take inspiration from their record sale to help soften the blow.

Since his return to Chesterfield in 2022, manager Paul Cook has received praise for his exploits in the transfer market, not being afraid to make big calls regarding fan favourites, and with a busy January window expected, the 57-year-old can take inspiration from previous sales this month.

Cook oversaw the six-figure sale of striker Kabongo Tshimanga, who netted 31 goals in 44 National League matches for the Spireites, and replaced non-league stars Jeff King and Joe Quigley this summer to improve the quality of the Chesterfield squad.

Perhaps Cook’s most impressive transfer from his time in Derbyshire dates to his first spell in charge of the club, when the Spireites signed Mansfield winger Sam Clucas for £100,000 in the summer of 2014, and he was sold the next summer for a club-record worth over £1million.

Now in January, the Spireites find themselves in a similar situation, with clubs from higher up the pyramid circling around 24-year-old James Berry. While losing the ex-Macclesfield man would be a blow to Town’s play-off push, if a lucrative offer was to arrive, with a healthy sell-on clause, it would be hard to turn down a transfer that could replicate that of Clucas'.

Clucas would spend just one season in Derbyshire, but the club benefited from his sale over half a decade later.

Clucas starred in Chesterfield’s unlikely rise to the League One play-offs

Not much was expected of the Spireites going into the 2014/15 League One season, fresh off the back of lifting the League Two title the previous year, but looking back at the squad, it was full of quality.

Ian Evatt was Blackpool’s captain in their only Premier League campaign under Ian Holloway, Sam Morsy is Ipswich’s current captain in the top flight, and players such as Gary Roberts, Eoin Doyle and Daniel Johnson all went on to have good Championship careers.

A relatively unknown Clucas, who was playing in non-league for Hereford just two seasons before, was one of Chesterfield’s stars, and was a real Swiss-army knife for Cook in his solitary season, featuring on either wing, left-back and striker.

The now-34-year-old was a mainstay in the Spireites’ 11, starting in 40 of his 41 league appearances, and he went on to score nine goals and provide three assists, as Cook’s unfancied side reached the play-offs against all odds, finishing the season in sixth place.

Clucas and Cook would depart Chesterfield in the summer, with the manager leaving for Portsmouth, while the Lincoln-born midfielder made the switch to Championship side Hull City for over £1million, with a healthy sell-on fee included in the deal.

The former England C international went from strength to strength in the second tier, playing a key role in Hull’s promotion to the Premier League, making 44 Championship appearances, scoring six and assisting eight as the Tigers achieved promotion through the play-offs.

Clucas kept his spot in the side as Hull entered the Premier League, this time in a more central role, and he featured in all but one top flight game, scoring three goals.

Chesterfield would reap the rewards of Clucas’ great form that summer, as fellow Premier League side Swansea City signed the midfielder in 2017 for over £16million, with Chesterfield picking up £760,000, as part of the sell-on clause, according to Sky Sports, which took the Spireites’ profit on Clucas to over £2m.

Not bad for a season’s worth of service.

Part of the sell-on fee would go back into the first-team budget, so if a potential deal is made for Berry this month, you would expect the Spireites to insert a sell-on clause into the promising winger’s deal.

Cook has already proven he’s the right man to re-invest in the Chesterfield squad

With multiple Championship clubs circling around Berry, Cook has proved, throughout his two spells in Derbyshire, he has the ability to build squads capable of challenging for league titles.

When Tshimanga departed for Peterborough in January 2023, Cook would waste no time getting reinforcements through the door, bringing in Andrew Dallas on loan from Solihull Moors, who scored six goals in 12 appearances for the Spireites, including a goal in the play-off final against Notts County.

Ryan Colclough was also brought in from fellow National League rivals Altrincham for an undisclosed fee and would go on to lift the title a year later, with the winger still an important member of the Chesterfield squad.

Even without any potential sales, Cook has hinted at a busy January window, as Town attempt to deal with an ongoing injury crisis, with over 10 players currently unavailable.

The Spireites were heavily rumoured about a loan move for Burnley forward Michael Mellon, but the 21-year-old opted to join Bradford City until the end of the season, following an ACL injury to Andy Cook.

The next name in the rumour mill is former Ipswich defender and current free agent, Janoi Donacien, who has been linked with a move to Derbyshire on a short-term deal until the end of the season.

With the Spireites not in action until next Tuesday’s EFL Trophy clash against Rotherham, it gives Cook some much-needed time to bring some new faces through the door, as the 57-year-old targets a top-seven finish in the Spireites’ first season back in the Football League.

History suggests he has a strong chance of getting it right whatever he does in terms of incomings, with the Clucas deal, and subsequent Hull/Swansea sequences, certainly a blueprint the 57-year-old will have ambitions of repeating if an exit for Berry is on the cards.