Derby County chief executive Stephen Pearce has revealed that owner David Clowes remains fully committed to funding the club's push for Premier League promotion, despite coming within an hour of selling the Championship outfit during the summer.
Clowes, a Derbyshire property developer and boyhood Rams supporter who rescued the club from administration in 2022, had agreed a deal to transfer ownership to Saudi Arabian government official Turki Al-Sheikh in August. The takeover had cleared the necessary hurdles, having been approved by both the Independent Football Regulator and the English Football League, before Al-Sheikh unexpectedly pulled out of the agreement.
Pearce described the sudden collapse as a shock to everyone involved at the club, explaining that the lengthy review process had effectively frozen Derby's transfer business for much of the window. "The wind was taken out of our sails, totally," Pearce told BBC Radio Derby. "We weren't expecting it to fall down, effectively, an hour before we thought it was going to complete."
Despite the setback, Pearce said the club quickly refocused its efforts. "But we regrouped and everybody got back on the horse. It was like, right how do we go again? And let's crack on with what we wanted to do," he added.
Remarkably, Clowes had already sanctioned a transfer budget and backed several signings while the takeover process was still ongoing — fully aware he stood to lose that investment if the sale went through. Derby paid £6m to sign Bobby Clark permanently from RB Salzburg, agreed a £2.7m loan-to-buy deal for Sam Szmodics from Ipswich Town, and spent around £600,000 to bring in Alex Mowatt from West Bromwich Albion, all funded by Clowes during this period of uncertainty.
Pearce praised his owner's approach, highlighting the financial risk Clowes took on despite the looming possibility of losing control of the club. "This is why he's such an incredible owner. He thought the takeover was going to happen, he knew he was never going to get a penny back for all of that money he spent on those players and he still did it," Pearce said.
He continued: "He could have quite easily, on 1 July, said to us and said to John [head coach John Eustace], 'look, I think this is going through, the signs are the club is going to be sold, you're just going to have to wait because every penny I put into transfers now I'm not going to get back.' And he didn't. He backed it regardless and that's why we're in such a strong position."
Clowes had previously been open about wanting outside investment to support Derby's ambitions of returning to the top flight, and the prospective deal with Al-Sheikh — a prominent figure in global boxing as well as a Saudi government official — had been viewed as a major opportunity for a club that narrowly missed the play-offs last season.
Following the deal's collapse, Clowes withdrew Derby from the market and turned his attention to reinforcing the squad further. The club's largest post-takeover signing was David Ozoh, who arrived from Crystal Palace for £4m, alongside a series of free transfers and loan additions, including the deadline-day return of defender Eiran Cashin.
Asked whether the turbulent summer had hindered Derby's promotion hopes, Pearce was dismissive of the suggestion. "Not in the slightest, otherwise we wouldn't have spent all the money we've spent," he said. "We want to push on. We want progression this season."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.