1987: Paul Smith, £47,000
With inflation: £140,093
Appearances: 305
One of my favourite players, Smith dropped from the Third Division into the GMVC to join City. £47,500 bought him from Port Vale just after the season started, a huge price for a non-league player. It wasn’t just a record for the Imps, but also for non-league football.
He repaid the debt, and then some, originally playing a key role as a wide man, before converting to full back. He ended up with 305 appearances for the Imps across nine seasons, cruelly robbed of a testimonial by Sam Ellis in 1995.
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