Derby County issued warning over John Textor takeover bid - Rams owner David Clowes urged to stay put | OneFootball

Serial football club investor John Textor has been linked to Derby County, but FLW's Derby fan pundit doesn't feel this would be best for his club.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Derby County are subject to speculation that they could be facing a bid to buy the club from serial football club investor John Textor

It's been a mixed start to the 2025-26 season for the Rams, with an underwhelming start to the season to be balanced against a revival which has seen them rise to the middle of the Championship table, despite a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Watford in their last outing.

But many of the headlines concerning the club over the last week or so have concerned potential goings-on behind the scenes at Pride Park, with reports that ex-Crystal Palace owner John Textor could be set to launch a bid to buy into the club, as per Alan Nixon.

Textor is a proponent of the multi-club model, and is already heavily involved with clubs in Brazil, France and Belgium, but he hasn't had an English club in his portfolio since selling his minority stake in FA Cup winners Palace during the summer.

"I totally trust him" - David Clowes backed to make right ownership decision by Derby County regarding John Textor

Football League World have spoken to resident Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward about the rumours linking John Textor to the Rams, and he is unimpressed by what he's heard about him.

"I'd heard quite a few negative things about John Textor from other fans and from other clubs he's been involved in," Shaun told FLW.

"I'm not sure this is the way we should be going. I think David Clowes is very astute and I don't think he would hand over the reins to someone who could potentially take us down the same road that Mel Morris did."

Shaun feels that there could be an outcome involving Textor that could work for Derby, but this wouldn't involve the American entrepreneur taking full ownership of the club.

"I think the best case scenario for John Textor would be that David Clowes releases part of the club to him and still stays involved," Woodward added.

"I couldn't see him selling us completely to him. I think he's too much of a fan and too sensible to allow to us to potentially go back to how we were. He's worked too hard to just throw it all away, so to speak."

And ultimately, Shaun trusts current owner David Clowes to do the right thing by his club.

"I'll be happier to stay the way we are and live within our means even if it means a couple of years of consolidation until we find the right person for David Clowes to sell to," Shaun concluded.

"I don't think David Clowes is going to do anything stupid. I totally trust him and I just personally don't see this as a way forward."

Both John Textor and Derby County's recent histories mean that Rams fans could be unnerved by his involvement with them

Derby County fans could certainly be forgiven feeling nervy at the news that their club could be set for new ownership again, given what happened to them under the previous ownership of Mel Morris.

Under Morris, Derby overspent massively in a failed attempt to return to the Premier League, and this ultimately led to the club ending up in administration and playing League One football. David Clowes bought the club from administration and get them back to stability again, with the Rams securing promotion back to the Championship at the end of the 2023-24 season.

And it's fair to say that John Textor has a mixed record with the clubs at which he's been involved, His Brazilian side Botafogo won the Copa Libertadores - the South American equivalent to the Champions League - at the end of his first season of involvement with them, but the financial problems incurred by his French club Lyon have been well-documented, and fans of his Belgian club RWD Molenbeek protested against plans to change their name to "Daring Brussels" - the club's original name - during the summer.

Even at Crystal Palace, there was some degree of controversy during his time at Selhurst Park, when it was confirmed that they would be demoted to the Europa Conference League from the Europa League after winning the FA Cup in May as a result of a conflict of interest caused by his shareholding.

There's a strong case to be made that the last thing that Derby County need right now is a "disruptor" getting involved with their club. The Rams had a horrible time of things as a result of Mel Morris's mismanagement of their club, and the fall-out from that period of their history has case a long shadow over them.