The name Martyn Waghorn is a blast from the past for Rangers fans.
The English striker had a prolific season at Ibrox in Mark Warbuton’s maiden campaign, joining the Gers alongside captain James Tavernier from Wigan Athletic in 2015.
Netting 28 goals in that first season at Rangers, there were hopes that Martyn Waghorn could go on to fire the club to 55 in the Scottish Premiership.
These turned out to be incredibly short-lived.
A disastrous first season back in the Scottish Premiership saw Warburton shifted out and Pedro Caixinha drafted in with the Portuguese ringing the changes and Waghorn heading back down south.
But eight years on from that Ibrox exit, the forward is now set to be without a club as current side Derby County announce a raft of departures.
Waghorn one of six to leave Derby
After a promotion-winning campaign, the Rams have announced that no fewer than six first-team stars will be leaving the club this summer.
Specifically, Dwight Gayle, Conor Hourihane, Scott Loach, Korey Smith, and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith will join striker Martyn Waghorn in leaving Pride Park.
It comes after Waghorn re-joined Derby County in the summer, with the striker scoring seven goals as Derby finished second behind Portsmouth in English League One.
An official statement on the release reads:
“Waghorn, 34, leaves Derby for the second time in his career, after returning on a one-year deal last summer and does so having played 150 times and scored on 37 occasions across those two spells.
“He played 27 times in 2023/24 and scored seven times, notably notching a first half hat-trick in the 4-2 victory at fellow promotion contenders Peterborough United in the early stages of the campaign.”
Rangers blew £8m striker chance
Remarkably, Rangers fans will remember that Derby County signed an £8m deal to bring Martyn Waghorn to the club back in 2018 under Frank Lampard.
Whilst the transfer was made up of a series of add-ons, which we’re unsure Waggy ever hit at the club, this was a money-spinning transfer fee which raised eyebrows in Glasgow.
Not least because only the season before, Caixinha’s axe saw Waghorn leave Rangers for Ipswich Town for a fee of only £250k.
Selling the striker for 32 times that amount only 12 months later, then Tractor Boys manager Mick McCarthy infamously announced that the side were ‘fortunate beneficiaries’ of the situation.
It came with fellow forward Joe Garner also being forced out under Pedro Caixinha.
“Why Rangers didn’t want to keep them I don’t know,” said McCarthy, in quotes carried by the Scottish Sun. “We’ve been the very fortunate beneficiaries of that one.
“When I head Waggy was available I thought that can’t be right. But we checked it out and he was.”
In total Martyn Waghorn made 78 appearances for Rangers, scoring 44 goals and laying on 17 assists.
