Mike Ashley’s potential bid for Derby makes a mockery of ‘fit and proper’ person test

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With Derby County still struggling at the foot of the Championship, an injection of cash from a new benefactor would surely be welcomed at this point.

It may even lead to a second-half of the season push to haul the Rams out of the relegation zone.

There are just over three weeks left until the transfer window closes, so if a new owner can be found quickly, there is time for deals to be done for players.

Step forward Mike Ashley. He of Newcastle United fame.

According to The Telegraph, Ashley is considering a potential bid of £50m to become the new owner of the club.

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On the one hand, those connected with the club and the supporters should be delighted that there might finally be light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

On the other, there’ll surely be a modicum of suspicion given how Ashley ran Newcastle into the ground.

Like the Magpies Derby are a proud club with a storied history, but given their current predicament they can ill afford for Ashley to be their knight in shining armour at the outset, only to not be willing to then invest properly in order to allow the Rams to move forward.

Wayne Rooney has done an excellent job to this point. Despite their 21-point deduction, the club find themselves just 11 from safety now. There is a small chance that he can make the impossible possible.

There would, potentially, be a bigger chance with Ashley at the helm, however, it really would make a mockery of the league’s ‘fit and proper’ person test if the former Magpies chairman was allowed to waltz back into football without a full and detailed audit of his business practices and what he intends to do with Derby.

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