Sheffield Wednesday could soon enter a new era after James Bord was named the preferred bidder for the club.

Wednesday have been on the market since former owner Dejphon Chansiri placed the club and the company through which he owned the stadium into administration in October, thereby ending his decade-long stint at Hillsborough.

After the interested parties were narrowed down, former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and American billionaire David Storch were among the final three applicants, but Bord was named preferred bidder by the club’s administrators on Christmas Eve.

Bord, a former professional poker player, now leads data company Short Circuit Science. He also co-owns Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic and has shares in Spanish team Cordoba and Bulgarian outfit Septemvri Sofia.

While Bord has never formally owned an English club, he has previously worked as a recruitment advisor for Sheffield United, where the Blades used his AI model to sign Jefferson Cacares, Christian Nwachukwu, Mihail Polendakov, Nils Zatterstrom, and Ehije Ukaki.

However, after only six months at Bramall Lane, Cacares left on a permanent basis in the summer to join Dunfermline, while Nwachukwu, Polendakov, Zatterstrom, and Ukaki have made a total of one appearance for the Blades, with manager Chris Wilder recently confirming that Bord is no longer with the club.

Sheffield Wednesday conveyed a clear message to Sheffield United regarding James Bord amid Hillsborough takeover speculation.

When asked about his reaction to Bord being named Wednesday’s preferred bidder, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy, from the YouTube channel Blades Ramble, slammed the club’s former advisor for his role in their summer recruitment, but admitted he would be pleased to see him take over at Hillsborough.

“The first thing we have to say is that none of us fans know what is going on behind the scenes, all we’ve got is perception as to what we think might have happened or what we can piece together,” Jimmy went on to tell FLW.

“From what Sheffield United fans have heard about James Bord, he’s been a complete disaster behind the scenes.

“He’s already gone into our nearest rivals and may be taking over and employing a model that saw us fall substantially behind in the summer.

“He ousted Chris Wilder, or was responsible in Chris Wilder’s sacking, which speaks for itself, but he’s brought in players like Ukaki, Nwachukwu, and Zetterstrom for a combined £5 million, none of whom have played a minute of competitive football for Sheffield United.

“They’ve been an absolute waste of money.

“I wish Sheffield Wednesday all the best, with a wry smile, I have to say.”

Sheffield Wednesday fans will be fearing the worse after James Bord’s Sheffield United nightmare.

Of course, Bord should not be judged before he has an opportunity to outline his ambitions for Wednesday, and his takeover proposal may not even be approved by the EFL, but Owls fans may be forgiven for being anxious that he appears to be in pole position to become the club’s new owner.

Bord is thought to have played a key role in Sheffield United’s decision to replace Wilder with Ruben Selles in the summer, as well as bringing in a slew of transfer flops, which resulted in a disastrous start to the season, with the Blades losing all six games in all competitions.

United have gotten back on track since Wilder’s return in September, and the 58-year-old has been able to add some more experienced players to his team, but there is no denying that Bord’s actions in the summer caused significant harm at Bramall Lane.

The fact that Bord was able to virtually break apart a team that had reached the play-off final the previous season in the space of just a few months will definitely concern Wednesday fans, who will be waiting to see if he is given the green light by the EFL.