Derby County’s administrators, Quantuma, have reportedly “spotted a provision,” that could potentially save the club, according to The Athletic

The provision comes from the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, which could enable the club to knock a huge chunk off of Derby’s debts.

This Act could render Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers’ claims essentially irrelevant. 

This plan was put to the EFL board last week. It would involve offering the taxman 25p in the pound as the unsecured creditors, and giving the two clubs chasing money with nothing. 

Derby also assured the board that it could fulfill their fixtures for this season without having to accept below value offers for key players. 

The board reportedly responded by suggesting the two clubs could still be football creditors. However, since this change in law the EFL rulebook has not been updated and so the board has offered to send the matter to arbitration. 

It was also revealed that Middlesbrough and Wycombe have not heard from the club’s administrators since before Christmas. 

 

 

“We are small potatoes in the bigger scheme of things… but I don’t think it can drag on much longer," said Wycombe chairman Rob Couhig, via The Athletic.

“But who knows? I question how long Derby can run without some outside additional funding.

“Until a human being or group is saying they have the money to buy Derby County and it’s here, everybody is just talking. I don’t know that anybody wants to burn any bridges until there is something to burn them for.”

Derby County moved off the bottom of the Championship table last weekend, courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United.

Wayne Rooney’s side moved within eight points of safety and ahead of Barnsley as they pursue an unlikely escape from relegation.

The Verdict

If Derby can avoid paying that money to Middlesbrough and Wycombe then that will significantly improve their financial situation.

An update is expected on their new owner this week from the administrators, so a pathway out of this mess is starting to become a little clearer.

It still needs to be dealt with quickly, before the end of the January transfer window ideally, but this news does give some light at the end of the tunnel for Derby County fans.