David Clowes issues Premier League claim involving Derby County | OneFootball

Derby County owner David Clowes admits he is "excited about the future of the club" after speaking for the first time since his takeover of the club.

That is despite Derby narrowly missed out on the play-offs during League One final day in 2022/23, with a 1-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday enough to see them drop out of the top six.

Failure to return to the Championship at the first time of asking will impact the club's decision-making in terms of transfers, and which players they want to keep or move on during the coming transfer window.

The club are lucky to be in existence, as only one year ago the founder members of the Football League were less than a week away from extinction.

However, things appear to still be moving in the right direction. Their financial issues were largely behind them last season and the points deductions, too. They were finally able to start afresh under a new regime with Clowes taking the reins as the club's majority owner.

They are about to embark on their second consecutive season in League One, having let go of 17 players already this summer, including first-team stars such as: Richard Stearman, James Chester, Curtis Davies, David McGoldrick, and Krystian Bielik.

John Percy of The Telegraph spoke to Clowes, a lifelong Derby fan, who saved his beloved club from what he believed was on the brink of extinction.

He said: "The club was on life support. If it had been any other business, you’d have walked away. It was in such a state. I honestly believe that if we hadn’t done the deal on July 1 the club would have gone in another five days. There was no money left to pay the wages. It was the end of the road, as simple as that."

However, in spite of that, Clowes believes that Derby can make it back to the top-flight in no time, and admits he is extremely positive about the future, he added: "Derby County is a big football club and if we get this right there’s no reason why we can’t be back in the Premier League in years to come.

"The short-term aim is obviously promotion out of League One. It has gone very quickly and I think we’ve done some good things.

"I know what we’re trying to do behind the scenes and I’m really excited about the future of the club.

“I’m seeing the club progress and feel very privileged that I’m in this position."

Derby County 2023/24

The Rams should be among the favourites for promotion in League One, given the sides who have gone up to the second tier and those that came down to replace them.

The division looks wide open for Paul Warne's side, and they should be optimistic about their chances. Some of the departures may be seen as a blow, but they have made good strides in the market already.