Son of former Liverpool owner George Gillett in talks to buy Derby County
Former Liverpool owner George Gillett’s son, Foster, is in talks to buy Championship club Derby County, according to reports.
Current Rams owner Mel Morris has been openly looking for a buyer for the club since last season, having felt the cost of the team’s failed bids for Premier League promotion.
And the claim Gillett Junior has come forward as part of a potential takeover, with Morris reportedly valuing the second tier side at around £60million.
Foster Gillett was a director at Liverpool during his father's turbulent reign at Anfield with part-owner with Tom Hicks, who bought the club in February 2007 and sold it to Fenway Sports Group in 2010.
He was invited to visit Pride Park by Morris towards the end of last season, the Mail claim, and they are said to still be in contact over a potential deal.
Morris has been in charge of Derby County for four years, but is already looking to sell up.
The owner has been open with his criticism of the financial structure of the English Football League, with the majority of clubs working at a loss.
The costs of Derby’s failed attempts to win promotion back to the Premier League are said to have left the club with losses of around £3million PER MONTH.
Morris has had talks with several possible investors, reportedly from the United States and China, but has yet to attract an acceptable offer.
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And any sale could be complicated by the club’s tricky financial situation.
The Pride Park outfit are in danger of breaching the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules if they are not promoted this season, while they are already being investigated after selling their stadium to a company also owned by Morris for £80m, who then leased it back to them.
Derby reported a pre-tax profit of £14.6m this year, but only because of that deal.