At League Two level, clubs often find themselves developing talented players who make moves to clubs higher up the pyramid for significant transfer fees. As for the top five most expensive transfers by a League Two club, where are the players now?
The defensive midfielder was sold by Exeter to Swansea City in January 2015 for £1.75m after an impressive start to the season, in a transfer which saw him make over 300 appearances for the Welsh club.
Despite leaving in the January window of 2014/15, the Englishman made his way into the PFA League Two team of the season.
As of 2026, Grimes now captains championship high-flyers Coventry City at the age of 30, and will hope to continue leading the Sky Blues should they reach the Premier League.
Having made his name for Exeter City in 2016 at the age of 15, Ethan Ampadu joined Chelsea in the summer of 2017. Whilst the initial transfer fee was a reported £1.3m, it eventually rose to £2.5m after a tribunal the following year.
Ampadu now captains Premier League outfit Leeds United and has done so since the summer of 2024. Alongside this, the 25-year-old has represented Wales on 59 occasions, some as captain.
He has also had stints at RB Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia and Spezia.
After breaking into the first team at York City, Ben Godfrey earned a transfer to Norwich City in January 2016. The fee was reported to be around £150,000.
Godfrey went on to establish himself in the Premier League, most notably with Everton after a £25m move in 2020 – this earned York City approximately £2.5m.
Now 27, he has also represented England at a senior level, earning his first cap in 2021.
He has since built a reputation as a versatile defender, capable of playing both centrally and at full-back, following spells in both the Championship and Premier League.
As of 2026, he plays for Danish outfit Bröndby IF, on loan from Atalanta.
Gazzaniga impressed for Gillingham in the 2011–12 season and secured a transfer to Southampton in the summer of 2012.
The fee was reported to be around £2.5m, a significant transfer deal for a League Two club at the time.
Now 34, he has since played across Europe and established himself as a reliable option between the posts, currently plying his trade in Spain with Girona.
He has also had spells at Tottenham Hotspur, Elche, and Fulham, gaining experience in both English and European football.
The Argentine has one cap for his national team, playing against Mexico in November 2018.
Ollie Watkins emerged as a standout talent at Exeter during the 2016-17 League Two season with 16 goals and 13 assists, winning him the EFL Young Player of the Year award.
This caught the eye of several clubs, but it was Brentford who signed him in July 2017 for an initial transfer fee of £1.5m.
Exeter made a further profit of £4.75m after the Englishman moved to Aston Villa due to clauses in his sale, bringing the overall sum to just over £6.5m.
Watkins quickly stepped up to Championship level, developing into one of the division’s most dangerous forwards before earning a move to the Premier League.
Now 30, he is a regular for Aston Villa and an England international, with the most notable moment of his career being his goal that sent the Three Lions to the 2024 European Cup Final.
