Progress has been made on Chris Kirchner's deal to take control of Championship side Derby County but further talks with the EFL are needed before the takeover is ratified, as per a Twitter update from journalist John Percy.

Percy also states that a deal to purchase Pride Park is still a source of concern, an issue that American business Kirchner said was the "last hurdle" in his quest to purchase the Rams, with the amount of time it will take to sort this problem being labelled as a specific concern.

Mel Morris, who put the club into administration last September, still owns the stadium at this stage with an agreement yet to be reached between Morris and Kirchner or other interested parties.

 

 

Kirchner even revealed that he would not buy the second-tier side if Morris still owned the stadium, a concern for their supporters considering the former's period of exclusivity ends on Saturday.

A takeover falling through at this stage could have grave consequences for Derby after spending a considerable period of time in administration, with a preferred bidder failing to be named by the club's administrators until the early stages of this month.

Kirchner has landed in the UK today ahead of the second-tier side's final game of the season against Cardiff City this weekend - and he will be hoping more progress is made on this deal during his time in the country.

The Verdict:

Considering Morris is the man who put the club into administration, he has to be willing to negotiate on favourable terms with other parties including Kirchner because if he doesn't, it could have serious consequences for the second-tier side.

Looking at this situation from an idealistic point of view, the stadium shouldn't belong to the preferred bidder, but the club. However, the vast majority of supporters won't really care about that at this stage if they can get a takeover sealed.

At the moment, that has to be the main priority with the club still in financial danger at this stage. Not only do they need an injection of cash to prepare for the summer - but it's required to keep the Rams afloat in their current form.

The sooner a deal can be concluded, the sooner contracts can be handed out and signings can be made, something that will be important considering next season is set to start slightly earlier than usual.

After that, other areas of the club need to be invested in including the academy and other areas that have understandably been neglected whilst they have been experiencing real financial trouble. There's a lot of work to be done, but a takeover needs to be concluded before anything else can happen at Pride Park.