The Athletic’s Derby County correspondent Ryan Conway participated in a discussion thread with Derby fans ahead of the Rams’ Championship clash with Rotherham United on Wednesday evening.

In this thread, the journalist was asked about the latest news concerning Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan’s ongoing takeover attempt.

The Derby County takeover saga

This takeover received the EFL’s approval in November and two expected dates of completion for the deal have been muted, one in December and one in January, both of which have passed without the deal getting done.

Complications surrounding the takeover resulted in the Rams failing to pay some players’ wages for December on time, which in turn led to Derby being handed a transfer embargo for a portion of the January window.

Conway’s claim on the latest Rams takeover news

In response to this Rams fan who asked him for takeover news, Conway declared that: “It speaks volumes that nobody even bothered to ask about it in the last presser. I think even the journalists are starting to all believe it won't happen now and think it's a waste of time asking. The same answers get repeated."

He went on to explain, with how long the deal has been dragging on for, that if there were a positive update, the club would make it known.

Transfer Tavern take

So, it may be fair to say that the journalist’s takeover comments certainly aren’t promising about the possibility that this deal will actually get over the line.

Perhaps that’s not a massive surprise, given that the takeover has failed to meet its expected date of completion twice and Sheikh Khaled has led failed takeover attempts of clubs like Liverpool and Newcastle United in the past.

The longer this deal drags on, as Conway indicated, the more likely it looks that Derby will join those two Premier League clubs as English sides who this Abu Dhabi royal family member has failed to take over.

In other news, many Derby fans were fuming over Duane Holmes' departure.