Derby County's debts believed to be over £60m

Derby County's debts are believed to be more than a staggering £60m, Sky Sports News has been told.

One source has told SSN they have never seen such a high level of debt in any Championship football club.

The club has amassed almost £30m of debt with HMRC, owes a further £20m to the US investment firm MSD via various loans secured on the stadium, and a further £10m is owed to other "football creditors".

Several more millions are owed to non-secured creditors, though they are likely to receive much less than the full amount.

Derby benefitted from HMRC's unilateral decision not to issue any winding-up orders against football clubs during the coronavirus pandemic, but that has allowed the debt to spiral.

This is largely because of Derby's lack of income when games were postponed, and when Pride Park was empty.

Negotiations are ongoing with HMRC. Derby's administrators are desperate to reduce the tax burden and make the club more palatable to would-be buyers. Similar discussions are ongoing with MSD and the other creditors.

That huge level of debt, together with the fact that Pride Park is still owned by Mel Morris, are major issues that must be addressed in the next four weeks if Derby are to move forward.

Other key stumbling blocks are the legal claims from Middlesbrough and Wycombe who say that Derby's breaching of financial rules cost them dearly last season.

Wycombe were relegated to League One and Boro missed out on the play-offs.

However, in one glimmer of positive light, Sky Sports News has been told that those legal claims could be addressed in front of an independent arbitration panel as soon as next week.

If that independent hearing does not succeed, the matter could be dealt with in a hastily-arranged civil