Leeds United have had to offload some high-profile players over the years for a cut price, whether it be due to the ambition of the player or just general financial issues.
Often they would mark a slight profit, but compared to what their actual value was, the club have often walked away feeling hard done by. The squad that was ransacked around their 2004 relegation comes to mind, where many elite individuals left Elland Road at far below their worth. It was a dark time for the club.
However, being an up-and-coming club in the Championship can often be a good thing, as it offers a springboard for youngsters to play with far less pressure than in the Premier League. This inflated level of performance can then tempt bigger clubs into spending big, only to find out they were not getting what they bargained for.
It seems the perfect example of this was just before the Whites' final season before they earned promotion, when Tottenham Hotspur came calling for Jack Clarke. An academy graduate, and thus signed for nothing, the Lilywhites were forced to pay a premium for the forward who had done little to merit such a price tag.
This marks one of the few moments where a player has sought to leave, only for it to actually benefit the selling club.
Where is Jack Clarke now?
Whilst the 22-year-old might be performing now for Sunderland, it still marks a return to the second division for a youngster who once promised so much.
Having played just 28 times for Leeds, scoring twice and assisting another two, there had been glimpses of real quality but without any consistency. As such, when Spurs came crashing in with an offer rising to £11.5m, it was a no-brainer.
Clearly a Mauricio Pochettino signing, his sacking not too long into Clarke's move to north London seemed to completely curtail his budding career at the club.
Just four short appearances for their senior squad would see him shipped out on loan to Wearside, where he has featured ever since. To mark his fall from grace, he would sign permanently at the Stadium of Light just last summer.
Having left Championship Leeds only to end up back there himself, whilst his old club enjoy their third consecutive season in the top flight, offers some delightful irony for fans of the club.
Whilst the 5 foot 11 wizard is admittedly impressing under Tony Mowbray, with seven goals and six assists in the league this season, he remains a great example of what could have been had he just stuck around at his boyhood club.
His current manager seemingly still sees that bright future ahead of him, branding him a "diamond" just last year; but even if he does fulfil his potential, it will still remain a striking piece of business from the Yorkshire outfit given how his career has stalled in recent years.
