Derby County: Former chairman Andy Appleby leading consortium bidding to take over club

Andy Appleby's company owned Derby County from 2008 to 2015

Former Derby County chairman Andy Appleby is leading a consortium that is bidding to take over the crisis-hit League One club.

Chris Kirchner withdrew his bid on Monday, leaving Derby's administrators looking for alternatives.

Discussions around the club's future this week have been extremely positive, BBC Sport has been told, which has raised hopes about a suitable outcome.

Appleby previously opted not to bid for the club, leaving Kirchner to step in.

Former Rams owner Appleby initially registered an interest for the club last October through his General Sports Worldwide (GSW) company as administrators Quantuma looked for a buyer.

Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is also interested in taking over the club, having written to Quantuma, via his lawyers, saying he "remains willing and ready to transact".

Ashley's Sports Direct empire has its main distribution centre at Shirebrook in Derbyshire.

It is not known whether any party would be willing to match the figures Kirchner had agreed to, raising the potential for a 15-point deduction next season if non-football creditors are not paid 25% of what they are owed.

English Football League chief executive Trevor Birch is taking a more active role in discussions about Derby and is working closely with Quantuma.

The Rams have been in administration since September and were relegated from the Championship last season

Fixtures for the 2022-23 season will be released next Thursday.