Curtis Davies has revealed that the Derby County players he has spoken to are "all waiting to see what's happening" with the takeover and are getting their information from social media and news outlets. 

Club administrators Quantuma revealed yesterday that Chris Kirchner has until 5pm today to prove he is in a position to complete his takeover deal.

As per Alan Nixon via Patreon, Kirchner is waiting for his money to clear anti money laundering checks but should he miss this latest deadline there will be an opportunity for other interest parties to supply the £21.4 million needed to buy the club.

The American businessman appeared on the eve of completing his takeover earlier this month but it could now be about to break down – with the start of the 2022/23 League One season less than two months away.

The ongoing delays have meant that Derby have been unable to prepare for next term while many of their players are out of contract and facing uncertainty over their futures.

Speaking on talkSPORT yesterday, Davies – who is one such player – opened up on what things were like from their perspective.

He said: "I've only spoken to a couple of players about their situations. There are obviously so many out of contract that keeping tabs with everyone isn't that easy.

"I've spoken to a couple of players and it's kind of the same message, we're getting most of our information from social media and news outlets. We're all waiting to see what's happening.

"Ultimately, when you see reports like Dan Roan's report it doesn't look positive for the current takeover. That is the worry.

"Listen, it's not just about the playing staff, it's about the people at the training ground and the people at the stadium that work there as well.

"If this takeover doesn't happen and the club could potentially collapse, we might not get paid in June. Us footballers, we can obviously worry about ourselves but it's the football club as a whole.

"It's not just the fact that people won't get paid, it's people's livelihood in terms of paying mortgages and everything like that.

"Then you've got the fans on the other side of it that have an investment into this club – however long they've been alive they've been supporting this club.

"It's important to find a resolution, whatever that is going to be, sooner rather than later because it has obviously dragged on the whole season and we've tried to not let it affect us during the season, even though it was difficult, but now we're in a situation where it is desperate measures.

"If we go back at Derby, we're meant to be back in on the 27th. We don't have an owner, therefore we don't have a squad – I think we've got five players under contract."

Davies added: "I'm extremely concerned because if you're a fan at home and you're sitting there reading the reports and you hear that a player's reading those same reports to get his information, then you'd have to be worried, you'd be silly not to be worried.

"I literally scroll through Twitter every morning and search for Derby County. That's what I do. That's the god's honest truth, I search for Derby County because the big thing was that the takeover was meant to happen last week – Tuesday – and there was talk of a delay based on American bank holidays and English bank holidays.

"It's now Thursday a week on!"

The Verdict

You have to credit Davies and the other players that have held out hope because this has not been easy for them and they could easily have left to join other clubs by this point.

It's been a nightmare 18 months or so for the Rams but that looked to be over with Kirchner's takeover seeming so close in recent weeks.

Hopefully, the current hold-ups prove just a minimal obstacle and the American businessman can get his deal completed.

That will allow the club to begin preparations for next season – starting with new deals for many of their players.