Derby told to provide ‘urgent update’ on proof of funds for current season by EFL | Football News

The EFL has asked Derby for an “urgent update” on how the club will be funded for the rest of the season after the Championship club failed to provide proof by Monday’s deadline.

On January 27, the EFL and the club’s administrators, Quantuma, agreed a four-week extension to the deadline to provide proof of funding.

The EFL has now stated it has still not received this evidence, nor any information from the administrators concerning a preferred bidder.

“On January 27, the EFL and Derby County’s administrators, Quantuma, announced a four-week extension to the deadline for the provision of evidence of sufficient funding to complete the current season,” the league said in a
statement.

“The administrators have not yet provided that evidence and we await an urgent further update from them on both that and the announcement of a preferred bidder.”

Derby’s administrators are reviewing the offers to buy the club that were made before Wednesday’s 5pm deadline and are seeking clarification on a number of issues before deciding on a preferred bidder.

It is still not clear how many bids were lodged, but it is understood a number of late enquiries were made by parties other than the three who had already expressed clear interest in a takeover.

Complete confidentiality surrounds the process, as the administrators study the financial details of each bid and discuss the finer details of the terms presented by the would-be buyers.

While there has been no comment from any of the interested parties or the administrators themselves, Sky Sports News believes former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley did make a formal bid to buy Derby shortly before the deadline.

Former Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley was seen in the directors’ box at Pride Park during Derby’s defeat by Millwall last week.

It is not yet clear whether offers were tabled by the American Carlisle Group, or by the consortium of local businesspeople headed by former Derby chairman Andy Appleby – both of whom have been involved in extensive talks over a potential takeover in recent months.

After a month’s extension already, it is thought the EFL’s patience is wearing thin, though the organising body may stop short of removing Derby’s right to play in the Championship, so long as they are reassured proper progress is being made, and security over the club’s immediate financial future is close at hand.

Fears that Derby, a founder member of the Football League, could be liquidated receded when it was announced earlier this month Middlesbrough had reached an accord with former Rams owner Mel Morris over their legal claim against the club.

The Boro claim, plus a further one from Wycombe, had been cited as obstacles to a takeover. There has been no update from Wycombe or the administrators concerning that claim.

Derby were placed in administration last September by Morris. The club have been deducted 21 points for entering administration and for admitted breaches of EFL financial regulations.

The team are fighting for survival under manager Wayne Rooney and are currently eight points from safety.

‘EFL showing repeated frustration’

Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:

“It’s the EFL showing increased and repeated frustration that Derby aren’t getting themselves out of this mess and that the administrators aren’t able to provide evidence that they can complete their fixtures for the remainder of this season.

“That’s the EFL’s priority here and there are various stages to this. The first priority for the EFL is ‘have you got enough cash to mean you can play every single game you’ve got for the remainder of this season so that we maintain the integrity of the competition?’ That’s the first thing – that’s what the EFL are asking for and that’s the most crucial, the most urgent.

“Beyond that, they want to know that they’ve got new owners that are going to keep the club stable for the longer term. It’s already a month extension that Derby’s administrators are granted from the first deadline the EFL set them, but the crucial factor here that affects all of this is the people who have bid to buy the club.

“We don’t know who they are. We think one of them is Mike Ashley. Did the Carlisle group from America get a bid in on time? That deadline set by the administrators was the end of last week and we’ve heard nothing from the administrators since. They’re still assessing those bids, going backwards and forwards asking for clarification on some details before they announce a preferred bidder.

“As soon as the administrators announce a preferred bidder – it’s a technical term but what it really means is ‘okay, we think you can buy the club and we’re going to give you exclusivity to go out and complete the deal’ – that’s what the EFL want to hear. They want to hear that Derby’s administrators have done that.”