Chris Kichner makes Derby County takeover admission

Derby County preferred bidder Chris Kirchner has admitted he didn’t think he would rejoin the takeover race for the Rams after previously exiting the running back in December, making this admission on Twitter.

The US businessman is now in line to seal a deal to take control of the second-tier side after being named by the administrators as the man they want to see take the club forward, a remarkable twist after initially pulling out of the race back in December.

He looked set to purchase Championship rivals Preston North End just a few weeks ago – a club with more stability at this stage and the guarantee of second-tier football next season – but Kirchner has now reaffirmed his commitment to the cause in the East Midlands.

With just five league games left to play, the Rams find themselves nine points adrift of safety with five games to go, not an insurmountable target considering the struggles of Reading and Barnsley this term but they certainly aren’t favourites to scrape their way to safety at this present moment.

However, many Derby supporters will just be relieved to see the possibility of their club’s extinction being reduced by this preferred bidder breakthrough.

Many people didn’t see Kirchner being named as the main name in the frame to take stewardship of Wayne Rooney’s men, including the businessman himself as he communicated with fans on Twitter last night.

Asked whether he thought he would enter the race again, he said: “Never thought I’d come back at the time. Circumstances changed. I learned more about what else was on the market and came back.”

The Verdict:

He can certainly say that again!

Without a doubt, this is perhaps one of the weirdest sagas of the season so far – but Derby supporters won’t really