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Abu Dhabi royal family member may bid for Derby

A senior member of the Abu Dhabi royal family who recently failed with high-profile bids for Liverpool and Newcastle United is interested in a Derby County takeover.   Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan, 62, is the cousin of Manchester City's owner Sheikh Mansour and owns the Bin Zayed Group, a Dubai-based conglomerate.

Current owner Mel Morris bought Derby in 2015 but it is understood he has been trying to sell at least a significant chunk of the club since last season.

Last month, Derventio Holdings (UK) Limited was registered at Companies House, the UK's registrar of companies, with three directors: Bin Zayed Group managing director Midhat Kamil Kidwai and two Swiss-based British entrepreneurs, Andrew Obolensky and Christopher Samuelson. Sheikh Khaled is listed as a 'person with significant control'.  Representatives of the new company are understood to have attended Derby's recent home against Watford.

Sheikh Khaled was unsuccessful with a bid for Liverpool in 2018 that was worth a reported £2 billion and an offer of £350 million for Newcastle in 2019.  Samuelson was involved in Russian businessman Anton Zingarevich's takeover of Reading in 2012 and the 2016 purchase of Aston Villa by a Chinese consortium led by Tony Xia.

Derby's current owner Morris bought the Championship side from Andy Appleby's American Partners group in 2015 but has been trying to sell at least a significant chunk of the club for at least a year, with Swiss financier Henry Gabay and Foster Gillett, the son of former Liverpool co-owner George Gillett, among those interested in the club.

Derby have haemorrhaged money in recent seasons, spending large sums on transfer fees and wages but falling short in the play-offs four times in the last six years. 
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