With an announcement expected within the next few weeks, the name of Sheffield Wednesday’s new owners will shortly be revealed.
The Steel City Derby did not go as planned, but off-field tales about Sheffield Wednesday continue to dominate the headlines. Almost 33,000 people packed Hillsborough to watch United win 3-0, but Wednesday fans will be hoping for news of a far more significant victory in the near future.
Wednesday have been in administration for about five weeks, and the administrators announced a few weeks ago that they had enough working capital to keep the club going until the new year, when the club’s future is expected to be much clearer.
However, with rumors and counter-rumors swirling about what that future might look like, there’s still a lot to unpack about the club’s future, so here’s a round-up of the latest from Hillsborough on the Sheffield Wednesday takeover.
Mike Ashley makes a £20 million bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday.
also revealed that additional four proposals had been submitted.
Earlier this week, on November 25th, the Daily Mail reported that five bids for Sheffield Wednesday had been made, with two more coming. The administrators had set a’soft deadline’ of November 21st – four weeks from the moment the club was placed into administration, meeting EFL rules that require clubs in administration to be marketed as for sale for 28 days – but are said to be still in talks.
The Mail’s story also claimed that “it is acknowledged that the winning party would effectively be buying a League One club,” implying that relegation is now fully expected by everyone involved in the transaction.
A Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United merger
On November 25th, the Daily Telegraph reported on inquiries made to the administrators regarding the club’s sale, one of which apparently came from Sheffield United’s American owners.
They stated that “representatives for COH Sports were among 80 parties to make initial calls to Wednesday’s administrators over the past month or so” and that, astoundingly, their question was about purchasing Sheffield Wednesday and combining the club with Sheffield United.
It is quite doubtful that this will move beyond that initial inquiry, though Sheffield United fans may be concerned that their club’s owners have such a poor understanding of the football culture in this nation.
Ryan Howsam’s bid for Sheffield Wednesday is confirmed.
A report on the financial website This Is Money confirms that Dubai-based entrepreneur Ryan Howsam has made an offer to buy the club. According to the article, Howsam “is among the bidders for beleaguered Championship club Sheffield Wednesday”. This comes after claims in The Times two weeks ago that he was mulling a bid to buy the club.
Howsam has lived in Dubai for 20 years, where he founded the Staysure travel insurance company in 2004 and continues to serve as CEO. He also owns golf’s Legends Tour. In a 2024 piece in The Sun, they stated that Staysure’s valuation was “heading towards £1 billion” and that it employed more than 1,000 people. The story on This is Money also says that Wednesday is his “hometown club.”
Sheffield Wednesday has been granted permission by the EFL to add another new player.
The Sheffield Wednesday squad has been the primary reason for their struggles on the pitch in the Championship this season, but Sky Sports reports that the EFL has cleared the club to bring in a new player to join Liam Cooper, who made his debut for them in the Steel City Derby as a 41st-minute substitute for the injured Dominic Iorfa.
Wednesday presently has six players out due to injuries, and they may lose more as the African Cup of Nations begins in January.
Sky Sports has obtained confirmation that “former Millwall, Sunderland and Middlesbrough forward Duncan Watmore and ex-Burnley, Southampton and Birmingham winger Nathan Redmond have been training with Wednesday with a view to potentially signing, but no deal has yet been advanced with either free agent” .
The sale of Sheffield Wednesday may nullify any further point deductions for next season.
According to the Sheffield Star, the sale of Sheffield Wednesday may preclude the EFL from applying any additional points deductions.
They reported that “the strength of the offers they had received were enough to satisfy the creditors the club owes on,” and that this could be enough to prevent Sheffield Wednesday fans from facing a 15-point deduction next season, regardless of which division they play in.
Two possible additional point deductions for violations of EFL regulations could still be applied, however these are expected to be deducted from their total for this season. If Wednesday can offer their creditors more than 25p in the pound, they will avoid additional penalties at the start of the next season.
The Star reported comments made by administrator Kris Wigfield prior to the Steel City Derby on Sunday lunchtime, when he told BBC Radio Sheffield: “We’re optimistic because of the level of bids coming in.” These will allow us to fulfill our obligation to pay the creditors 25 cents for every pound, ensuring that the club will not face any additional consequences.”
xz
