EFL urges Derby administrators to prove the club can survive

The English Football League has urged Derby’s administrators to prove the club can survive after Chris Kirchner missed a deadline to show he had the cash to buy the Rams.

American businessman Kirchner, who was named as the preferred bidder in April, was given until 5pm on Friday to show he was in a position to complete the deal.

He failed to meet it and the EFL now have serious concerns over Derby’s future.

A statement read: “Following confirmation from the administrators at Derby County that the transaction with Chris Kirchner has not progressed, the EFL calls on Quantuma to clarify how they plan to take the club out of administration.

“As previously communicated, the League is 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.”

Kirchner exchanged contracts with the joint administrators for Derby on May 16. The Rams were relegated from the Sky Bet Championship last season having been docked 21 points over their financial problems.

The EFL, which had given conditional approval to Kirchner’s ownership, had said on Thursday it was “incredibly disappointed” and called for a resolution “as a matter of urgency”.

A statement from administrators Quantama read: “Further to our update yesterday evening, and despite the best efforts of the parties, Mr Kirchner has, as of yet, not provided us with satisfactory evidence that he is in a position to complete the acquisition of the club – albeit he continues to work on this.

“The joint administrators are continuing discussions with other interested parties. Contrary to reports in the media today, no interested party has been excluded from these discussions.”