1925: Walter Webster, £1,650 (£89,400)
Destination: Sheffield United
It took until October 1925 for Fern’s record to fall, and even then it wasn’t exactly obliterated. Walter Webster moved to Sheffield United for £1,650, an increase of just £150 on the figure Everton had paid before the First World War. It was a big move for City – he’d been snatched from Walsall in the summer and immediately made club captain. 12 games later, he was gone.
It is perhaps the first indication of just how differently the transfer market operated during those early decades. Today, record fees can increase dramatically from one summer to the next. Back then, City waited almost 12 years to add ten per cent to theirs.
Comments Welcome!