Owner Mel says takeover still in play for Derby
DERBY County owner and chairman Mel Morris says the takeover of the club is technically still live.
It is now more than three months since the Rams announced a deal had been agreed “in principle” to sell to Derventio Holdings (UK) Limited whose ultimate controlling entity is Bin Zayed International owned Sheikh Khaled Zayed Bin Saquer Zayed Al Nayhan.
In December, the club and Bin Zayed International issued a joint statement assuring supporters that the takeover is “on track” with a view to completion before Christmas.
The takeover has yet to be completed amid speculation the deal could be off but in an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Morris said: “It’s not finished.
“I can’t really talk about it because it’s under a very strict non-disclosure agreement so I can’t give you details on it. But it’s not finished.
“I don’t like to put percentages on it. There’s a contract between the two of us. That’s in the public domain.
“There’s a contractual obligation to sell and a contractual obligation to buy. You continue to have dialogue as much as you need to.”
Terms of the proposed sale are not public but the Mail on Sunday claims it includes covering working capital for this season (£22m) and next (slightly less), plus taking responsibility for a £15m loan.
The paper reports that Morris will keep the club afloat until a transition to a new owner is complete.
“Literally every day is spent trying to work out how to improve our situation,” he said.
Morris has also spoken of his own health problems and how he recently lost a “best friend” to Covid-19.
“I buried my best friend last Monday,” he said.
“He had Covid in October and we thought he’d recovered but his wife found him dead, two weeks ago last Thursday.
“That was a big shock. He was a huge character and a big part of my life, a friend and mentor for 30 years.”
Morris believes he was struck down by Covid-19 himself a year ago.
“At first I thought it was gastric flu and it lasted for six to seven weeks. I lost about a stone and a half. I had all the classic symptoms of Covid but was never diagnosed. It nearly wiped me out,” he said.
“I wasn’t in hospital but I had an oxygen machine at home, an oxygen generator rather than a tank, and that was massively helpful. Even now I’m not 100 per cent but I’ve got a few other health issues as well. I’ve had a few bits chopped off here and there, from my bowel and my back, that haven’t been helpful.
“Clearly when you have those sort of things, it makes you think. You have to hand over [ownership] at some point anyway. And these things focus your mind a lot more.”
According to The Sun, a group of American investors are also interested in taking over the Rams and have been given a tour of the club’s facilities.
They are not the MSD Capital group, which has lent Derby money through MSD UK Holdings Limited – the investment group linked to American billionaire businessman Michael Dell.
Us-based MSD Capital – owned by Dell – emerged as a potential investor in March last year.
CLIFTON Cricket Club teenager Harry Moore has been named in the new intake for Derbyshire’s academy.
Moore, who is not 14 until April, is one of nine young players signed for the boys’ intake for the 2021 season.
They have already been working with academy head Daryn Smit and his team of coaches during the winter, during which time first team captain Billy Godleman has also been involved.
Moore is in his fourth season playing for the club and has already been involved with Derbyshire age group teams from the under-10s onwards.
He made his debut for Clifton’s third team in 2019, scoring 50s in three friendlies and 77 for Derbyshire’s under-12s against Lincolnshire.
When last season belatedly got started, he was in the second team and enjoyed a breakthrough game against Breadsall seconds, top-scoring with 76 in a total of 195-5, then taking 5-26 as Breadsall were bowled out for 140.
In league matches in 2020, he scored 250 runs at an average of 19.23 and took 17 wickets at an average of 12.06.
The season included a first team debut in
County League Division One.
The winter programme consists of coaching for three hours at a time, twice a week focusing on individual and small group work.
This includes identifying different themes, game scenarios, technique and plans with the coaches.
Strength and conditioning coach Matt Meyer has also been working on their fitness, strength, agility, speed and movement patterns.
Smit said: “This year’s intake of players have been an absolute pleasure to work with to date.
“Even in the face of adversity, given the times, they have found a way to keep improving and doing so with a smile on their faces.”
Derbyshire’s academy has been proving for some years that it can provide first-team players. At the end of last season, Nick Potts stepped up from the academy and the current squad includes Alex Hughes, Tom Wood, Harvey Hosein and Sam Conners, who all came through that path.
Harry’s father, Simon, is a long-time Clifton stalwart who was briefly on Derbyshire’s books himself.