Chris Kirchner provides Derby County update after relegation confirmed

Chris Kirchner has revealed that progress has been made as he looks to complete his takeover of Derby County.

"It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn." – Thomas Fuller

— Chris Kirchner (@cskirchner) April 18, 2022

The American businessman was finally named as the preferred bidder earlier this month, as the Rams look to end this saga that has overshadowed, and influenced, their campaign.

Having been hit with a 21-point deduction, relegation always seemed inevitable, and it was confirmed today following a 1-0 loss at QPR.

Kirchner will have always been aware this was a strong possibility, so it won’t impact his desire to finalise the deal. And, after praising Wayne Rooney and the players for the effort they’ve shown this season, he gave an update to the fans on the latest via his Twitter account.

“This week we continue to move forward in a couple directions– planning on the squad and most importantly on our side the business plan to get the final approval on the OADT from the EFL.

“We had to make adjustments with the 35p commitments to ensure that we start next year on 0 pts and also wanted to make sure we were planning for the correct division which we know now.

“This will go to the EFL on Friday and we anticipate a quick turnaround from them for approval as they have been very supportive in helping us to be in a position to close the deal. At a high level our target next steps of the process are, 1)EFL approval on business plan 2) stadium situation sorted 3) Creditor approval on waterfall 4) Takeover completion.”

The verdict

This is good timing for Kirchner as whilst most fans would’ve expected relegation, it was still a big blow for them, so to get an update like this offers