Update shared on Pride Park as Derby County takeover edges closer

Chris Kirchner has confirmed that Mel Morris not owning Pride Park is the ‘last hurdle’ to overcome before he completes his deal for Derby County.

The American businessman was named as the preferred bidder to buy the Rams last month and talks have been progressing since to ensure an agreement was reached.

Things have been complicated by the fact that former owner Mel Morris still owns Pride Park, with plenty of speculation surrounding how they will get around that.

And, whilst Kirchner wouldn’t give any specific details, he revealed on Twitter, as quoted by The Athletic, that Morris needs to hand over the stadium for everything to get sorted.

“(My bid is) conditional that MM (Mel Morris) no longer owns the stadium. I’m not directly involved in those discussions, so I don’t have a comment right now. That’s the last hurdle though.”

There is a confidence that Kirchner will complete the takeover, with an announcement expected by the end of the week.

Boss Wayne Rooney has already stated his desire to continue as Derby manager in League One if the deal does go through.

The verdict

This is a positive in the sense that Morris will have no more involvement in the club and you can understand why the new owner wants an issue like this sorted before he comes in.

Clearly, there will be plenty of details to sort behind the scenes and all Derby fans will be desperately hoping for good news later this week.

They need this takeover sorted and it will finally allow them to look ahead to a bright future under Kirchner and with Rooney.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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