Another Derby County takeover has fallen through after BBC Sport reported that the deal agreed with Erik Alonso in April is off.
Another Failed Derby County Takeover
Derby’s Woes Continue
Mel Morris has been wanting to sell the East Midlands club for some time after several failed attempts to return to the Premier League combining with the fact that finances are becoming tighter and tighter following the investments he had made in pursuit of that goal.
A sale was approved back in November of 2020 with Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Neyahan’s £60 million takeover ratified by the Football League but this also fell through with concerns raised about potential human rights breaches so Morris was left floundering and looking for someone else to release him from what has become a millstone around his neck.
Erik Alonso
Ironically, in the final game of the 2020/21 Championship season, Derby stayed up following a draw with Sheffield Wednesday that saw the Owls relegated, a team that Alonso had had involvement with and was also rumoured to have had designs on.
Alonso is a quiet person of whom not a great deal is known about but he has made some pretty wild assertions about his proposed takeover of Derby- even suggesting he wanted to make them a Champions League club.
Whilst this kind of positivity may be well meaning it is far from the reality of the situation that the club face themselves in after just surviving a relegation scare which would have seen Derby in the third tier of English football for the first time in 35 years.
Alonso appeared on talkSport radio on April 8, telling Simon Jordan and Jim White that the deal was still on replying to suggestions to the contrary: “That is not true, we will go ahead with the takeover”
Wayne Rooney Wants Quick Resolution to Takeover
The Derby boss Wayne Rooney made it clear after surviving relegation in his first managerial role that he wanted any takeover talks to be resolved as quickly as possible so he and his team can move forward with planning for what he hopes will be a bright future despite a wretched season on and off the pitch.
Rooney told Sky Sports following the draw with Wednesday that;
“There’s a lot of work to be done. Off the field [stuff] needs to be sorted as possible,” the Manchester United icon said. “We need clarity and we need to be able to move forward quickly. We’ve got plans ready and they’ve been there for a while which is how I want the club to be able to move forward on the pitch.”
Derby County Takeover Not the Only Problems
Failed takeovers can cause uncertainty on the pitch, in the boardroom and mean player recruitment for next season rests in the balance. Derby also face the possibility of heavy fines and even starting next season with a hefty points deduction after the EFL won an appeal against the club for breaching rules on spending.
Fears that any sanctions could be added retrospectively to the just ended season seem to have been allayed, but any points decision next season could see Derby face another uphill battle to stay in the Championship let alone fight for promotion back to the Premier League.
Mel Morris will want to try and find new buyers for the club and until he does, the future of the club will remain uncertain for some time to come.
