Derby County to accept ‘very good' takeover deal Saudi collapse - expert
Derby County are still up for sale this summer despite suggestions that the club is now off the market.
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the club’s indication that they are no longer available for purchase is not entirely true.
This comes after the Rams saw their proposed takeover from Saudi Arabian billionaire Turki Alalshikh collapse earlier this week, much to the surprise of the hierarchy at Pride Park.
Wyness outlined that he feels “very sorry” for current owner David Clowes, but also acknowledged that a “sensible investor” would still be able to tempt him into a sale in the coming months.
Clowes has made it clear in recent years that he does not have the necessary resources to fund a genuine push for the Premier League, which the club were expecting to be remedied by Alalshikh’s involvement.
Instead, they have been left stunned ahead of their season opener at the weekend, with their likely cash influx having been pulled from under their noses.
Lawyers were ‘still working’ on Derby deal last weekend
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has made it clear that lawyers were “still working” on the Alalshikh takeover last weekend, such is the speed behind the decision to pull out.
He made it clear that he is “not enamoured” with the approach taken by the Saudi businessman, who he believes has left Clowes and the Rams in the lurch.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, he explained why Clowes would still accept a good offer for Derby right now, despite the club’s public stance.
“It's a mess, and I feel very, very sorry for David Clowes in particular, who I think has proven to be a really good, honest saviour given the Mel Morris situation,” Wyness said.
“He's already said that it's a lot for him and he hasn't got the personal wealth to really go on and push on to the Premier League. I feel sorry for them given the fact that they've gone right down to just three weeks before the window closes just for them to pull out.
“I believe the lawyers were even involved as recently as last weekend, still working to get the whole transaction closed. I know they said the club is off the market, but the reality is any sensible investor coming in would probably be able to strike a very good deal with Clowes.
“Derby is a great club with tradition. There is some growth potential and other real estate assets could be harnessed as well. Alalshikh appears to have led people down the path and then left at the last minute, and I'm not exactly enamoured with that approach.”
Reason for Saudi takeover collapse explained
Wyness told Football Insider earlier this week that Alalshikh pulled out of buying Derby because he felt the independent football regulator had taken too long to give the deal the greenlight.
The regulator set aside 90 days to grant permission for the takeover, but managed to reach a positive verdict after just 55 days.
Wyness feels that the proximity to the season starting is the reason behind the investor’s decision to walk away, although that is something that he has heavily criticised him about.
The Scottish businessman feels very strongly that Alalshikh should have been planning his first moves in terms of the squad weeks ago, and should have had everything in place to hit the ground running immediately.