Derby County: Chris Kirchner’s deadline to buy Rams passes without progression | Football News

Derby County’s future remains uncertain after Friday’s 5pm deadline for Chris Kirchner to complete his deal for the club passed with no sign of progression.

On Monday, May 16, the American businessman exchanged contracts for the sale of the club with administrators Quantuma, at which point the deal was expected to be sealed 15 days later.

However, Kirchner has not been able to deliver the funds required to do so in the time since and Quantuma have announced they are re-opening negotiations with other interested parties as a “contingency” in case Kirchner’s deal collapses.

It is thought that, if Kirchner’s deal to buy the club does fall through, there is real danger the club could be liquidated.

Sky Sports News has been told that the separate consortiums behind Andy Appleby’s bid, and Steve Morgan’s bid, have now both lost some of the investors they had originally lined up, and may not be able to resurrect their original offers to buy.

While lines of communication with the administrators have been kept open between Appleby’s consortium and by Morgan’s consortium, it’s thought neither are currently involved in active negotiations.

Mike Ashley remains committed to buying Derby, but he is balking at what he sees are excessive fees charged by the administrators for their work over the past eight months – which runs into several million pounds.

There is currently no dialogue between Ashley’s representatives and Quantuma.

A Quantuma spokesperson said: “As previously reported, the joint administrators exchanged contracts with Mr Kirchner on 16 May 2022. At the time there were a number of outstanding issues, which have now been resolved.

“However, certain logistical issues mean that completion has still not taken place. Accordingly, the joint administrators have taken the decision to engage with other interested parties as a contingency measure. The sale and purchase agreement with Mr Kirchner currently remains in place and Mr Kirchner has been given until 5pm on 10 June 2022 to provide satisfactory evidence to the administrators that he is in a position to complete, subject to EFL approval.

“We are aware that fans and stakeholders are concerned at the lack of official communications. It is, however, not appropriate for us to comment further on the current position as there is commercial confidentiality which needs to be protected. We can, however, confirm that there is a real willingness amongst all parties to complete a deal as soon as possible.”

The update comes a day after the EFL released a statement detailing its disappointment at the lack of progress.

It read: “The EFL is incredibly disappointed with this evening’s announcement by Derby County’s Administrators that Chris Kirchner has failed to complete the purchase of the club.

“It is imperative that this issue is resolved as a matter of urgency. The league will continue to engage with Quantuma as they now hold discussions with third parties and will support as appropriate the club as it seeks to exit administration.”