The existence of Derby County remains uncertain at the end of another chaotic week.
Chris Kirchner withdrew his bid to take the club out of administration after more than two months of exclusive negotiations.
The interest in buying the Rams has been revived by a number of previous interested parties.
The English Football League became more involved with the sale of the club.
With the pre-season for Wayne Rooney's Derby less than two weeks away, information from interested parties is being disseminated.
What comes next for the Rams is the subject of a programme by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Some of the groups that want to take Derby out of administration want to remain anonymous.
Steve Morgan is said to be back in the race after being out of the picture for a while.
The American Binnie family, who had a £30m offer rejected in March, say that they have not been contacted by the administrators of Derby.
The consortium fronted by Andy Appleby is the "frontrunner" in the current bidding war, according to the radio station. They made an offer on Thursday.
The American was part of a takeover of Derby in 2008 when they were in the top flight and finished with a record low points total.
Mel Morris took control of the club in 2015, after they lost to Queens Park Rangers in the Championship play-off final.
Appleby could be seen as a "trusted" buyer after years of previous involvement according to Ed Dawes.
"Derby supporters have been battered and bruised many times and are shell-shocked at how their club has gone to the brink of extinction in the near future."
For turning the club around once before, Appleby has a proven track record.
After the fall of the premier league in 2008, there was a lot of book balancing and wage cuts. During my youth, the fans weren't the most appreciative, but in the past few years, the work done by Appleby and the other managers has been appreciated.
The ownership of the club's stadium, which is still in ex-Rams owner Morris' control, has been resolved with a deal in principle reached with a local consortium.
According to reports, the owner of Derby is ready to go with a takeover.
The sale seems to suggest that he has the funds to complete the deal. There are questions over what this hard-nosed negotiator would be willing to pay.
If a bid less than what was tabled is accepted, non- football creditor will not be paid 25% of what they are owed, which will cause a 15-point deduction.
According to figures from Quantuma in April, the total claim for taxes that have not been paid has gone up to over 30 million dollars.
In the first six months of administration, the club racked up costs of over two million dollars.
Rooney's future at Derby is not certain.
He wanted to stay in League One after being demoted from the Championship. The caveat was that the takeover was done quickly.
England and Manchester United's all-time leading scorer, who ended his illustrious playing career to take the managerial reigns at the Rams, has already rejected offers from other places.
The 36-year-old refused to leave the Rams after they were deducted 21 points for entering administration, despite interest from bothEverton andBurnley.
The way in which he conducted himself and the way the team performed under him means he is still in demand.
Rooney's number two, Liam Rosenior, was spoken to about the job at the Championship side before Appleton was appointed.
Derby's pre-season is set to start on Monday, 27 June and the club have just five first-team players contracted for next season because of restrictions put on them because of the financial turmoil.
A goalkeeper or any defenders are not included in the quintet.
13 first-team players are out of contract on 30 June, while Ryan Allsop has already joined a new club.
It is not known who will pay the club's June wages and no pre-season fixture has been confirmed by the club.
The administrators are likely to ask for more money to pay their wages.
Andrew Aloia is a journalist from England.
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