At the end of November, certain sources (tweet – below) were quoting Derby County’s interim boss Wayne Rooney in saying that the Abu Dhabian takeover of the Rams was close:
Rooney on the takeover: “I’m echoing what I said on Friday, it’s really close. I’m hoping in the next 24 – 48 hours there will be a completion.”
— Ryan Conway (@RJConway92) November 30, 2020
Rooney’s hopes of a quick resolution to matters have not gone to plan. Nearly a month down the line and the proposed change of owners is no closer. Yet, in speaking to Derbyshire Live, Rooney again touched on the takeover situation.
Was 48 hours – what’s state of play now
Rooney’s Derby side suffered a last-gasp loss to Preston North End which saw them not able to escape the clutches of the bottom three in the Sky Bet Championship.
A brief recap of the timeline would see that an agreement ‘in principle’ was made that would see Sheikh Khaled Zayed Bin Saquer Zayed Al Nayhan take control of the Rams.
A recent statement was issued which hinted at a pre-Christmas takeover but that appears to have fallen by the wayside. Now, obviously, a date in the New Year is looking more likely.
Rooney on the takeover
After the Preston loss, the issue of the takeover was broached and Rooney did provide a little insight. On this specific issue he said: “Nothing at the minute. Hoping it will be done pretty soon, but at the minute no change.”
When asked whether this related to his position as prospective manager or the takeover, he quickly replied: “Hopefully both! On both, the quicker the better for everyone.”
A date early in the New Year would be the most likely benchmark on which to measure the successful resolution of the takeover that Derby County are heavily in.
