Derby County’s future is increasingly blurry

Nobody at Derby County saw it coming. An hour before the takeover of the club by Saudi Arabia government official Turki Al-Sheikh was due to complete, Al-Sheikh pulled out. The deal had been approved by the Independent Football Regulator, one potential sticking point. They were ready. And then they were back where they started. Chief executive Stephen Pearce described it as “the wind being taken out of our sails”. We may never know if Al-Sheikh was ever truly committed to Derby. Certainly this is not his first EFL club saga and there should be even more scepticism next time. Once is never, twice is always and three times is enough to persuade everybody that you are wasting their time. That said, it is unorthodox behaviour to submit the deal for regulatory approval and then leave. Personal view: Derby are far better without this association and its collapse should – bigger picture – be a cause for celebration. Al-Sheikh is intrinsically linked to the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. There are accounts of intimidation and human rights violations for those who criticised Al-Sheikh over his work within the state’s sports ministry. Turki Al-Sheikh abandoned his proposed takeover of the Rams (Photo: Getty) There will be supporters who say that the business of football is football and screw the rest. There will be those whose whataboutery points to Newcastle United or Manchester City. Some of them will shout at me on social media. Fine, that is all a personal choice. But becoming the plaything of a man linked to state-authorised action is a position from which it is hard to reverse from. The problem is the residual short-term gain. Less than two months on, the ripples of the snap decision taken by a multi-billionaire thousands of miles away continue. Derby, who finished eighth in the Championship last season, understandably put project plans for the stadium and training ground on hold pending a new owner. Nobody can accuse David Clowes of not pulling his weight nor of failing to put Derby first. Not only did he save the club in the first place, and has backed it significantly since, he also continued to sign players this summer even when he knew that his tenure may be coming to a close. Last summer, Derby paid around £6m for Patrick Agyemang. This summer it was £6m for Bobby Clark and £4m more on David Ozoh. They haven’t sold a player for more than £500,000 since Eiran Cashin in 2024-25 and have signed nine players for fees above £500,000 since, some many times that value. Clowes’ generosity could never be questioned, particularly given that he also cleared the £20m high-interest loan to MSD Holdings. “This is why he’s such an incredible owner,” Pearce told the BBC. “He thought the takeover was going to happen, he knew he was never going to get a penny back for all of that money he spent on those players and he still did it.” John Eustace has made his feelings perfectly clear (Photo: Getty) Derby are officially off the market following the Al-Sheikh collapse, but Clowes was clearly open to investment or a sale. The Rams lost £11.3m in their last published annual accounts (2024-25) and much of the heavy transfer spending has come since. It is an expensive hobby owning a Championship football club, where your prize is to lose money. At the last count, Derby’s staffing costs were 105 per cent of revenue. The more pressing issue is Derby’s start to the season on the pitch. The club openly talked about progressing from last season’s position of eighth, which equates to a promotion push given the expansion of the play-offs. Manager John Eustace spent early August insisting that he needed more quality players. Derby have lost five of their seven league games in 2026-27. They have already dropped six points from winning positions and have typically been desperate in the final 15 minutes of their matches (scored none, conceded four). This wasn’t how anybody foresaw this season starting. Eustace has taken the brunt of the criticism. The defensive structure is clearly pretty uncertain, with the full-backs unable to stop dangerous crosses into the box. The performance in the final stages of games have prompted questions about fitness. Derby have been undone by a series of individual mistakes – nothing will infuriate a manager more. Perhaps that’s all coincidence: the manager has some issues at the same time plans shift off the pitch and, at the same time, certain players make unfortunate errors that exacerbate teething problems. Maybe Derby will quickly respond – they finished eighth last season despite winning one of their first 10 league games after all. It happens. There is another theory. Failed takeovers leave a residue, even if subconscious. Employees, on pitch and off, have prepared for a new era. Supporters, particularly those who had no moral quandaries about the Al-Sheikh bid, had grown excited about potential spending plans, broadened horizons and expanded expectations. Read more The Journeyman: The great rebirth of Sheffield Wednesday The Journeyman: AFC Wimbledon and the fear of losing their soul That makes them less tolerable of the flaws they see now. You are perfectly content with your current car until someone lets you test drive a shiny new one with bells and whistles, offers it at a ludicrously low price and then drives off into the sunset. Derby need not panic too much – they know here what a real emergency looks like. Clowes himself deserves only praise. Any resentment landing at his feet would be a gross disservice, given his indefatigability and investment through and after the worst days. Still, this is a significant roadblock. The messaging may be business as usual with the same anticipation of progress. But a fanbase and a club were given a glimpse of a future. It has made Derby’s present seem a little blurry and mundane.