A BIG STEP FORWARD BUT HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FROM HERE?
THE proposed takeover of Derby County has taken a major step towards completion after the Rams agreed a deal with Spanish businessman Erik Alonso. The deal remains subject to EFL approval and the Rams are saying they hope it will be completed in the “near future”.
Our Rams reporter Steve Nicholson answered key questions about the takeover when he took part in a discussion online yesterday.
These are the highlights.
Q: What can you tell us about Erik Alonso? A:
He’s 29 and he was recently an advisor at Sheffield Wednesday and there were reports at the time of a possible takeover of that club but that didn’t happen.
Since the Derventio Holdings takeover collapsed, Mel Morris has been talking to other interested parties and Alonso’s name kept cropping up.
We don’t know an awful lot about him but in the coming weeks, when this deal receives approval by the EFL – or if it receives approval – we’ll be hearing more from him.
Q: Is this deal more nailed on than the Derventio Holdings one which collapsed? What’s the timeline? A:
Speaking to the people, there’s confidence that the deal can happen but we have been here before, back at the start of November when it was announced a deal had been agreed in principle with Derventio Holdings.
That received EFL approval but it never happened and collapsed.
But there has to be confidence in this deal happening.
As for when? This is always the issue.
There’s a quote from the statement from the club saying in the “near future”. What exactly “near future” is, we’ll wait and see. What’s clear is that this takeover issue with Derby County has rumbled on for too long.
Mel Morris, to be fair, has been looking for new investment or a takeover for a number of years now. He said he would step aside if the right offer came in and the fit was right for the club.
This why a lot of fans are saying “let’s wait and see what happens.” That’s a natural reaction.
Q: Are you surprised this has been announced now, given the deal hasn’t been completed? A:
It’s a tricky one for football clubs. It would be easy for both parties to say absolutely nothing and wait until the deal is 100% over the line.
Maybe in years gone by, that would have happened. But the way things are now, with social media, it’s very difficult to keep anything under wraps and fans want to know what is happening.
So I think it’s important that clubs keep the fans informed as much as they possibly can, without going overboard about it.
That’s why we’ve got this announcement and, fingers crossed, we’re nearing the end of this takeover saga because, as fans have said to me, we have been here before.
Q: What does this mean for Wayne Rooney, the team and the upcoming transfer window? A:
I’m sure Wayne will be very keen to have the takeover sorted one way or another.
First of all, he’s got a lot on his plate for this season to make sure Derby maintain their Championship status because they are still looking over their shoulder.
But he’s very ambitious.
He wants to take this club back to the Premier League and he wants to be challenging for promotion next season.
For that to happen, an awful lot needs to be done because they’ve struggled all season, so he needs to have his plans in place and he needs to know who is running the club and what financial help he will be given.
What is also crystal clear is that this summer is a crucial one for Derby and it is vital matters are sorted on and off the pitch because significant improvement is needed next season.