EFL pundit Jobi McAnuff has suggested that both Max Bird and Louie Sibley will be amongst the assets at Derby County who will likely be sold on the cheap after the Rams entered into administration.
It has been a very difficult period for all concerned with Derby over the summer and at the start of the campaign.
The Rams had been attempting to get on with the job of picking up points in the Championship with a threadbare squad under despite all of the off-field issues around the club.
However, the club has now entered into administration and that means that the Rams will be set to be deducted 12 points from their current tally of ten following their 2-1 win against Stoke City on Saturday.
That deduction could even rise to 21, with another nine point penalty hanging over the club.
Entering into administration means that the Rams could be forced to cash in on valuable players from their squad over the next few transfer windows in all likelihood.
That comes with them needing to recoup some money to keep the club afloat until new owners can be found.
Speaking on EFL on Quest, McAnuff suggested that Derby are going to now be forced to sell key young talents from their squad including the likes of Bird and Sibley. While he also believes those players will be sold on the cheap and the Rams will lose value on them.
He said: “I think we’ve seen before, I’ve been through administration before at Wimbledon when I was a young boy, and it’s a difficult situation.
“We saw with Wigan your assets, your real prized assets particularly the young players that we’ve seen Louie Sibleys, Max Bird who scored a fantastic goal, ultimately they’ll end up getting sold on the cheap probably.
“Somebody comes in and has to get rid of the club and they’re (Sibley, Bird and other young players) seen as the assets and it’s a bit of a lose, lose for everybody. We’re hoping at some point Derby can get taken over at some point and get back to somewhere where they should be because a club of their stature shouldn’t be in this situation.â€
The Verdict
It is never an easy period for any club that enters into administration and McAnuff knows that himself having been in that situation as a player during his early career at Wimbledon.
It is often the club’s younger prospects that are used to generate revenues needed for the survival of the club that are often the first to be sold off in these kind of scenarios, so it would be no shock to see the likes of Sibley and Bird moved on in January even on the cheap.
If Derby are going to be hit with a points deduction of up to 21 points then surviving the drop would be almost impossible for Wayne Rooney’s side irrespective of any players being allowed to leave the club to raise some funds.
Derby are going to have to rebuild and it is a shame that they might lose the likes of Bird and Sibley and other young talents that they have put a lot of work into developing through their academy system.