Derby's season has been shaped less by one bad result than by the collapse of Turki Alalshikh's planned takeover, which pulled out an hour before completion in August. Since then, the club have had to reset plans while trying to keep the football moving. They have five points from their opening eight league games, and Mo Fuseini's last-gasp equaliser at Burnley was enough to salvage a point.

The transfer plan that stalled

Stephen Pearce, Derby's chief executive, offered a calmer view of the summer when he said: "From a transfer perspective we hadn't lost anything we wanted to do." John Eustace described it differently when he said: "Obviously, we had our targets that we were looking at and who we wanted to bring in. When the takeover eventually didn't happen, we've lost a lot of momentum on players that we were looking at."

That gap in tone matters because Derby were trying to build a squad around a changing market. The injury list has grown as the club have tried to patch things together, and the start has been thin enough that a single point at Burnley briefly stopped them sliding to the bottom.

Eustace's job after the summer reset

There is also a reason Derby still trust John Eustace to steady the side. His recent spell at Birmingham ended with the club sixth in 2023, while Blackburn were fifth when he left for Pride Park. That is part of why Derby believe the start can be managed without turning every setback into a bigger story.

The more immediate problem is practical. Derby have not fielded the same back four in successive games since August, which has made any rhythm hard to build. With only five points from eight games, the club are still looking at the same issue every week, the squad keeps changing before the season has had a chance to settle.

FAQ

Why has Derby County's start been so slow after the takeover collapse?

The collapse of Turki Alalshikh's planned takeover came an hour before completion in August and Derby's summer plans began to unravel. John Eustace said the club lost a lot of momentum on the players they were looking at, and Derby have only five points from their opening eight league games.

How did Derby County's transfer plans change after the aborted takeover?

Stephen Pearce said, 'From a transfer perspective we hadn't lost anything we wanted to do.' Eustace gave the other side of it, saying Derby had targets they wanted to bring in and lost momentum when the takeover did not happen. The club then had to keep moving while injuries mounted.

Can John Eustace steady Derby County after the bad start?

Derby still back Eustace because of what he did at Birmingham and Blackburn. He was sacked by Birmingham when they were sixth in 2023, and Blackburn were fifth when he left to join Derby. The club's start is still only five points from eight league games.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →