Sheffield Wednesday may have to look elsewhere as fresh doubts surround James Bord’s proposed ownership of the Championship club.

Bord’s connections to gambling and crypto-gaming may hamper his standing in terms of the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ test; he was awarded preferred bidder status on December 24, but there appears to be no progress over a month later.

While the Owls remain in administration, they suffered their 20th Championship defeat on Saturday, losing 1-0 to play-off hopes Wrexham.

The South Yorkshire club has also had a difficult winter transfer season, with club veteran Barry Bannan joining Millwall, but Wednesday could keep Svante Ingelsson before the February 2 deadline but what fans would undoubtedly desire the most is to exit administration.

Mike Ashley remains interested in taking over Sheffield Wednesday.

Bord remains the Owls’ preferred buyer, but Wednesday’s administrators, Begbies Traynor, may be forced to go elsewhere if he fails the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ test.

Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, a controversial figure in the North East, had expressed interest in acquiring the Hillsborough club before Bord’s group was granted exclusivity – but may he return to the table if the Dunfermline Athletic owner’s bid fails?

Alan Biggs, a TalkSPORT reporter and Sheffield Star columnist, said on Saturday that Mike Ashley’s name has returned in reports and comments regarding the SWFC takeover scenario.I’ve had people ask about him. On that basis, I consulted with sources. Led to believe he’d still be interested, depending on the outcome of the preferred proposal.

It will likely fuel speculation about whether the current bid for Sheffield Wednesday will go through, with one of the reasons that club icon Bannan left for Millwall being that Bord was ‘unable to make any binding commitments’ at the time until a resolution was reached regarding the club’s ownership.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters may be suspicious of Mike Ashley following Dejphon Chansiri’s struggle.

Wednesday faithful are desperately and nervously awaiting the takeover of their team, which will put an end to their current administration.

The Owls fans have already accepted the fact that their team will play in League One next season after three years in the Championship.

However, the South Yorkshire club’s long-term future remains uncertain, and the committed fanbase cannot relax.

Several notable players, including previous manager Danny Rohl, left Hillsborough last summer as their wages were delayed due to Dejphon Chansiri’s dismal spell as Wednesday’s owner.

Owls supporters may be leery of Ashley, however, because the tycoon was universally loathed by Newcastle fans due to his lack of ambition, and he also sold the naming rights to St James’ Park.

But it’s difficult to argue against Ashley’s commercial skills; he’s successful in that area, and he was able to extract £300 million from Newcastle’s sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, so there are still reasons to believe he’d be a better fit at Hillsborough than Bord.