The Athletic’s Derby County reporter Ryan Conway talked about all of the latest Derby County news during the latest live stream that he conducted on his YouTube channel, and he spent some time discussing the Sheikh Khaled Zayed Bin Saquer Zayed Al Nayhan-led takeover of the East Midlands club.
This takeover received the EFL’s approval in early November and as per Sky Sports, it was anticipated that the deal would be finalised by the end of that month, however, we are now in December and the takeover hasn’t been completed.
Back in August, an independent disciplinary tribunal cleared Derby of breaching the EFL’s spending rules – a decision that the EFL has since appealed – and during this live stream, Conway was asked if the EFL’s appeal of that ruling has resulted in the takeover being held up, however, the journalist indicated that as far as he’s aware, that is not the case and he shared that he believes that the loan the Rams received from MSD UK Holdings earlier this year is what has actually prolonged the process.
Here is what Conway had to say about the hold-up of the takeover: “I have not heard the EFL appeal line. I have not heard that, I have not been briefed that. As far as I’m concerned, the EFL appeal was not holding it up, but that was only as far as I was briefed.
“I was told it was along the lines of the debt repayments, obviously, they took out a loan from MSD, so those kinds of repayment structures, all those kinds of things were the reason that it [got held up].
“It could be both – again, football, smoke and mirrors, powerful people don’t really want you to know exactly what’s happening, but the longer it goes on, the more concerns I do have.”
Are you surprised that the takeover hasn't been completed?
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TIF Thoughts on what Conway had to say about the Derby takeover…
Perhaps the EFL would not have approved the takeover in the first place if they were then going to prevent the deal from being completed due to their appeal regarding the ruling on the Rams’ alleged breach of spending rules, so perhaps it would make more sense if this issue of loan repayments is the main reason behind the deal not being done by the end of November.
It is also understandable why the reporter stated that he’s becoming more concerned about this takeover the longer that the process drags on, as Newcastle United were subject to a drawn-out takeover saga earlier this year and that takeover ultimately didn’t happen – despite Sky Sports previously reporting that the deal was close to completion.
So, hopefully for the Rams, whatever issues are holding up the takeover can be ironed out sooner rather than later, as the would-be buyer may well lose interest if the deal is not completed promptly, in which case they will be left with current club owner Mel Morris, who has reportedly been looking for a way out of Pride Park for well over a year.