Derby’s Championship start hit by collapsed takeover and transfer fallout
October 5, 2026 11:00
Derby County have five points from their opening eight Championship matches and remain in the relegation zone after a summer in which a planned takeover collapsed on the eve of the season. The abortive deal with Turki Alalshikh pulled out an hour before completion in August, a development the club says blindsided them and affected their summer business.
TRANSFER DAMAGE
Head coach John Eustace says the club had to review targets once the takeover fell through. "Obviously, we had our targets that we were looking at and who we wanted to bring in," he told the Derby Telegraph. "When the takeover eventually didn't happen, we've lost a lot of momentum on players that we were looking at."
Chief executive Stephen Pearce disputed the scale of the impact on recruitment, telling BBC Radio Derby: "From a transfer perspective we hadn't lost anything we wanted to do."
Still, several moves were disrupted or lost. Derby missed out on Liam Millar after Birmingham signed him on loan; Mo Fuseini — who scored a last‑gasp equaliser at Burnley this month to rescue a point — was signed from Union Saint‑Gilloise on deadline day after he had been due at Birmingham. Ben Brereton‑Diaz, who scored eight goals in 41 games for Derby on loan last season, committed to Sheffield United before Derby could re-sign him. Patrick Roberts was another target whose wages were a stumbling block.
Because none of last season's loanees had options to buy, Derby were exposed to market forces this summer. They paid £6m to sign Bobby Clark from Red Bull Salzburg and re-signed David Ozoh for £4m on deadline day — Crystal Palace had valued him at £10m at the start of August. Clark, Ozoh and Sammie Szmodics were influential last term, but their arrivals have, according to the reporting, left the squad roughly back to last season's level rather than a clear upgrade.
INJURIES AND ATTACKING DEPTH
Squad injuries have compounded problems. Pisa striker Henrik Meister, who had scored twice in a year, arrived as back-up to Carlton Morris and Patrick Agyemang but has been asked to lead the line while those forwards have been unavailable; Meister suffered a head injury against Birmingham this month. The report notes USA striker Patrick Agyemang suffered an Achilles injury against Stoke in April that sidelined him for the World Cup and has been out since April with a serious Achilles problem.
CONTEXT
Eustace took charge in February 2025 when Derby were fourth‑from‑bottom; he left Blackburn—then challenging for promotion—for a project that was described as survival, consolidation and then a push for promotion. The collapse of the takeover on the eve of the season interrupted the momentum behind that summer recruitment drive despite owner David Clowes remaining committed to bankrolling the club.