This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County's future is still up in the air, with Chris Kirchner being given more time to complete a purchase of the club.

The American businessman's exclusivity period officially ended on Saturday, but that has been extended with a deal still to be done for Pride Park - negotiations with ex-chairman Mel Morris though have proven difficult.

The re-emergence of Mike Ashley on the scene as a potential buyer has complicated things further, and all County manager Wayne Rooney wants is for the situation to be resolved so he can press ahead with plans for the 2022-23 season.

It is a campaign which Derby will spend in League One, and until a takeover is sorted then Rooney cannot offer contracts to his players - the majority of which are expiring this summer.

One of those is Curtis Davies, who despite being 37 years old featured in every single Championship match in 2021-22 after recovering from a serious achilles injury in the previous campaign.

His performances have attracted the interest of Nigel Pearson at Bristol City, with Davies being lined up to add some more experience to a youthful looking Robins squad, according to Alan Nixon on Patreon.

Davies though would be a huge miss if he were to leave according to FLW's Derby fan pundit Jason Straw, who is desperate to see the veteran sign on for another year.

"Curtis Davies was named Derby County's Player of the Year this season - the man is 37, played absolutely every minute of every game, Derby County need to do all they can to keep hold of him," Jason said.

"I think he wants to stay, I don't particularly think his wages are a huge concern - just a player of that quality and experience in the Championship has been breathtaking this year, so in League One he's going to be even more and more important.

"He's certainly one of the first players Derby need to try and tie down to a contract.

"You need the right blend, the right mix in League One and Curtis would certainly - if he wants to stay - bring that in abundance and if he decides not to, then he is going to be a big player to replace."

The Verdict

Earlier in the 2021-22 season, Davies was forming part of the oldest defensive partnership in the EFL along with Phil Jagielka and many were concerned at how they'd fare.

Little did Derby fans know though that they would be one of the Championship's most solid duos until Jagielka's departure in January, and that just showed the class of both players.

Davies playing every single minute in the league this season following such a bad injury in 2020 just shows his character, and he could definitely still do a job in the second tier next season.

Wayne Rooney will no doubt want to keep him, but unless a takeover is sorted soon then Bristol City and other clubs are going to be able to swoop.