Former owner of Ipswich Town showing firm interest in Derby County takeover as more interested parties emerge

Football League World

Former owner of League One club showing firm interest in Derby County takeover as more interested parties emerge

By Jordan Rushworth

Published Oct 10, 2021

Former Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans is amongst a group of interested parties who are potentially wanting to takeover at Derby County

Former Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans is amongst a group of interested parties who are potentially wanting to takeover at Derby County, according to The Sun.

Derby are in desperate need of a resolution to their ownership situation to help resolve the club’s financial issues.

However, according to the latest report from The Sun, despite those financial issues they are planning to lodge an appeal against the 12-point deduction for entering administration to try and halve the total.

The Rams are thought to now be of interest to Evans, whose 14-year reign in charge of Ipswich was brought to an end when he sold the Tractor Boys back in April, with the club now in their third straight season at League One level.

It is believed that he has the money needed to fund the purchase of Derby and is already putting feelers out to try and get a deal underway.

While it is not thought that Evans would face any issues over the EFL’s ownership tests due to his 14-year affiliation with Ipswich.

The Sun’s report also adds though that Evans is facing competition from the likes of Burton Albion chief executive Jez Moxey, who is being strongly linked with a consortium interested in financing a takeover of Derby.

The verdict

Evans’ ownership of Ipswich was never really popular amongst supporters of the Tractor Boys. That is understandable considering that he took over the club hoping to help them to the Premier League, and instead left them when they had been in League One for the best part of two seasons.

However, Evans never really got Ipswich into a position where their finances were in major trouble and he was frugal with the money that he invested after his first few years in charge of the Tractor Boys.

There were periods under his ownership where Ipswich threatened a go at promotion to the Premier League even on a budget when they had Mick McCarthy in charge.

However, things unravelled once Evans made the decision to sack McCarthy under pressure from supporters.

In Derby’s position, an owner like Evans would not be the worst possible outcome they could imagine. It would at least provide the Rams with some long-term assurances over their future, although he would have a lot to prove after his spell at Ipswich.