LAST UPDATE | 11 Feb 2022
DERBY COUNTY MANAGER Wayne Rooney remains hopeful that the club can hold onto Ireland U21 international Festy Ebosele despite reports that he is close to joining Udinese.
The Wexford native has caught the eye lining out for the Rams this season, both as a full-back and in midfield.
19-year-old Ebosele has made 23 appearances in all competitions this term — with two goals and two assists to his name.
Most recently, he was on target in the 3-1 win over Hull City on Tuesday night.
However, with Derby in administration and fighting to avoid relegation from the Championship despite a 21-point deduction for financial regularities, Ebosele has been tipped to become the latest Irish youngster to head to Italy.
Serie A side Udinese are keen on his signature, and reports this week suggested he was undergoing a medical ahead of a summer move.
18-year-old St Patrick’s Athletic defender James Abankwah signed for Udinese last month, while Shamrock Rovers youngster Kevin Zefi moved to Inter Milan in 2021 and Cork City defender Cathal Heffernan has agreed to join AC Milan, initially on loan with a view to making the switch permanent.
However, the Rams boss Rooney is keen to hold onto the player and believes a deal has not yet been done.
“He certainly hasn’t done a medical and, as far as I know, no contract has been agreed,” Rooney said during today’s press conference.
“There has been contact from the club (Udinese) to the administrators. Of course, we’re left in a position where if he wants to go and play there, because of the situation, that’s his choice but he’s a player we want to keep.
“Hopefully the news we’ve had today on the Middlesbrough situation means we can start to get a contract in front of him, because we want to keep him.
He’s a huge talent. Myself and the other coaches have developed him mentally as a player and we want the opportunity to carry on doing that and keep getting more out of him.
“I’ve only spoken to him once briefly about it and you can see the enjoyment he has from playing for this club.
“Now I can speak to him and hopefully we can get a contract in front of him, if the EFL allows that, and then he’s got a decision to make.”
"This is the finish of the night!" 👏
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 8, 2022
Come for Festy Ebosele's fantastic finish, stay for the acrobatic celebration! 🤸♂️ pic.twitter.com/6WWA9cI8T0
Derby’s hopes of exiting administration have been boosted today after an agreement was reached over a legal claim against the club from Middlesbrough.
The claim, along with a potential claim from Wycombe, have been held up as obstacles to selling the club to new owners.
However, the Rams announced on Friday that an accord had been developed between their former owner Mel Morris and Boro owner Steve Gibson.
The Derby statement said: “Gibson and Morris were keen to develop an accord ahead of the Middlesbrough v Derby County fixture to be played at the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.
“The claim has clearly been the source of much concern to both sets of fans, and especially those of Derby County. The fact that a resolution has been discussed and agreed should be comforting to both sets of supporters.
“Details of the accord shall remain private. However, it is important for all interested parties, including potential bidders, to be confident that the Middlesbrough claim will not be an impediment to Derby County progressing its plans for a sale of the club.”
News of the accord followed an offer from Morris last Friday to Middlesbrough and Wycombe to take up their claims against him personally to the High Court to enable Derby to “move on”.
Rooney welcomed news of the accord and said: “Obviously, that’s been the main stumbling block in moving forward.
I’ve been pushing and pushing about getting new owners in and this is a big step to allow that to happen.
“So now the next step is obviously the administrators engaging with the preferred bidders and getting the right one in.”
Sources close to the Binnie family, one of the bidders for Derby, had become frustrated over the lack of progress regarding the claims and feared the actions of Middlesbrough and Wycombe were driving Derby until liquidation.
Supporters’ group the Rams Trust said: “Rams Trust is very encouraged to hear an agreement has been reached with Middlesbrough over the outstanding compensation claim.
“If a similar agreement can now be reached with Wycombe Wanderers, we should be able to push ahead with the takeover.
“The administrators have indicated that there would then be no further impediment in announcing a preferred bidder who would then fund the club until the end of the season.
“We urge the EFL to confirm with urgency that they are content to accept this agreement to enable the takeover to be completed. This is a vital step in ensuring Derby County is saved.”
An EFL spokesperson said: “The EFL welcomes today’s positive development that an agreement has now been reached regarding Middlesbrough FC’s claim against Derby County.
“The league will now continue to work with all relevant parties on finding the appropriate solutions that will secure a long term future for Derby County.”
Wycombe have been contacted for comment.
- With additional reporting from Ben Blake
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