Derby County: Chris Kirchner's deadline to buy Rams passes without progression
Kirchner unable to provide necessary funds to complete purchase of Rams by Friday's 5pm deadline; ex-Newcastle owner Mike Ashley remains committed to buying the club, though there is currently no dialogue between Ashley's representatives and administrators Quantuma
Saturday 11 June 2022 16:52, UK
Derby County's future remains uncertain after Chris Kirchner failed to complete his deal for the club before Friday's 5pm deadline set by the administrators.
The American businessman has still "not provided us with satisfactory evidence that he is in a position to complete the acquisition of the club", administrators Quantuma said in a statement.
Kirchner exchanged contracts for the sale of the club on May 16, at which point the deal was expected to be sealed 15 days later.
But Quantuma announced on Thursday they were re-opening negotiations with other interested parties as a "contingency" - giving Kirchner less than 24 hours to prove he had sufficient funds.
Despite missing the deadline, Quantuma have said Kirchner "continues to work" on providing the money required.
It is thought that if Kirchner's deal does fall through there is real danger the club - relegated from the Championship this season - could be liquidated.
It is not clear what action the administrators will now take but it remains possible they could extend the deadline still further, if they believe there is a realistic prospect of the deal being done.
The EFL urged Quantuma to find a resolution quickly, saying it was "incredibly frustrated at the time it is taking to conclude this sale".
"With the League just two weeks away from announcing its 2022/23 fixture list, it urgently requires a clear understanding of how the club will be funded moving forwards, be that through the administrators or under new ownership," a statement read.
Three other groups have previously made bids to buy Derby - consortiums led by former Wolves owner Steve Morgan, another from former Derby chairman Andy Appleby and also from former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.
Ashley is still committed to completing a deal but has not received any response from Quantuma for some time.
He is baulking at what he sees as excessive fees charged by the administrators for their work over the past eight months - which runs into several million pounds.
Quantuma said on Friday they "are continuing discussions with other interested parties," and that "no interested party has been excluded from these discussions".
Sky Sports News has been told that the separate consortiums behind Appleby's bid, and 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.
