£1.5m Derby County deal who "started a revolution" identified as Rams' biggest transfer masterstroke | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has been discussing who the club's biggest transfer masterstroke is.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County have enjoyed the fruits of some excellent pieces of transfer business down the years.

Craig Bryson, Chris Martin, Mason Mount, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing; whether it's been free transfers, small fees or shrewd loan additions, the Rams have seen some huge returns on some superb investments.

As such, we asked our Derby fan pundit, Shaun Woodward: 'What is the biggest transfer masterstroke County have ever made in your opinion, and why?'

"Most people would agree with me" - Derby County's biggest transfer masterstroke identified

Woodward said: "I think most people would agree with me, the best signing, especially in my lifetime, is Igor Stimac.

"Jim Smith bringing him in when he did, it just started a revolution at Derby for three or four years, where we just brought in some unbelievable talent.

"We really rose as a team, our profile, we started getting some really good international players. I think it all stemmed from the foundations laid by Igor Stimac.

"We brought in the likes of Aljosa Asanovic, Francesco Baiano, Stefano Eranio, Jacob Laursen - just some real class.

"I don't think that would have been possible without bringing in Igor Stimac when we did. I think people looked at him and thought, 'well if he's gone there, we can go there as well'.

"It just paved the way for an amazing few years at Derby, which I don't think many fans will forget."

How Derby County would love an Igor Stimac in John Eustace's defence right now

Signed in October 1995 from Croatian side Hajduk Split for a fee of £1.57m, it didn't take long for Stimac to become a Derby County icon.

The tough, combative centre-back helped guide the Rams to Premier League promotion in a 1995/96 campaign that saw Jim Smith's side go 20 games unbeaten, and played a huge role in helping attract fellow Croatian international Alijosa Asanovic to the club the following year.

He was a central defender who was perhaps ahead of his time too, as he oozed confidence and class on the ball, and was much more akin to the ball-playing centre-backs of the present day than to the prototypical no-nonsense players of his era.

Stimac would spend almost four years with Derby, and was voted to the club's all-time XI. He eventually left for West Ham United in the summer of 1999 for a fee of £600,000.

Considered by many Rams supporters as the club's greatest ever foreign import, Stimac is a true Derby legend, and will always hold a special place in the hearts of those fans who were lucky enough to see him play.