Derby County had to wave goodbye to many of their key players during the height of their bleak financial issues, saying farewell to the likes of first-team stalwart Tom Lawrence and rising starlet Luke Plange to name a few.

All of that agony is a distant memory for the Rams in the here and now however, as Paul Warne attempts to be the much-loved manager at the helm that steers Derby to a return to the Championship.

Yet, this ex-player's current predicament will still raise an eyebrow when Derby fans observe from afar.

Once a goalscorer in a Championship playoff final for the Rams when Frank Lampard was boss, one out-of-sorts striker now finds himself roughing it up in League Two as his career begins to fizzle out.

Jack Marriott's time at Derby

Joining the Derby ranks off the back of a Golden Boot-winning season in League One with Peterborough United – Marriott bagging 27 third-tier goals from 44 appearances – the hefty price tag of £3m didn't look too extortionate at the time.

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The ex-Posh star, who was described as being an "incredible" talent by Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony during his time in Cambridgeshire, would immediately hit the ground running making the step-up to further justify the millions spent to acquire his services.

The energetic 5 foot 8 centre-forward would find the back of the net a respectable 13 times in all competitions during his first season at Pride Park, including a strike against Aston Villa in that campaign's Playoff Final.

Derby and Marriott's fortunes would go downhill hand-in-hand after this Wembley heartbreak however, with the former Derby attacker finding the back of the net just four more times over the next two seasons as the Rams failed to ever mount another charge for promotion.

Marriott would have a mixed time playing for both Sheffield Wednesday and Fleetwood Town in the aftermath of his Rams exit too, with the 29-year-old even returning back to Peterborough United for a stint.

Now, however, the dwindling striker finds himself playing in League Two with Wrexham Town – the Welsh side managing to convince Marriott to make the drop down from the third tier owing to their mega riches under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Jack Marriott's time at Wrexham

Once worth £3m when the Rams swooped in to sign him in his prime, Marriott's value is now all the way down at €0.9M (£771k) playing in Wales, according to Football Transfers.

The new Wrexham number 11 is goalless from his opening six games for the Red Dragons, upstaged by the likes of former Premier League veterans Steven Fletcher and James McClean being amongst the goals recently.

With Paul Mullin also one to steal the limelight for Phil Parkinson's giants up top – with the 29-year-old sharpshooter onto 12 goals this season – Marriott could well end up blending into the background in Wales if he isn't careful.

It's a sharp decline for an attacker who was once a hero at Derby, firing in goal after goal with the Rams eyeing up promotion to the Premier League at the time.

Now, Derby are just content aiming for a return to Championship football whilst the waning centre-forward aims to break his goalscoring duck soon in League Two. How things can change…