Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Steve Bruce has spoken up about his connection with Mike Ashley, amid continued talk that the former Newcastle United owner could take over Hillsborough.

While he kept the club in the Premier League for two seasons in a row, Bruce had a rocky time in command of the Magpies, and he was fired after only one game after Ashley sold the club to a Saudi-led group for £305 million in October 2021.

Ashley has not owned a football club since leaving St James’ Park, although he has expressed interest in Wednesday since Chansiri placed the club in administration in October, and his original approach of £20 million was reportedly rejected.

Despite this, Ashley was regarded to be one of the last candidates in the running to take over the Owls, alongside David Storch and James Bord, but the club’s administrators chose a group fronted by the latter as the preferred bidder on Christmas Eve.

However, as the wait for Bord’s EFL approval to complete his purchase of Wednesday continues, it has been said that Ashley is ready to pounce if the transaction falls through, while the Storch family is also thought to be keeping an eye on the issue.

Steve Bruce offers Mike Ashley and Newcastle United perspective during Sheffield Wednesday acquisition talks.

It is fair to say that Bruce was never a popular pick as Newcastle manager, and he has spoken out about some of the vitriol he faced while at St James’ Park, saying that he received death threats and had to call the police.

In March 2021, Bruce’s team suffered a 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, putting them in relegation danger. Despite his fears of being fired, he later revealed that he received an unexpected phone call from Ashley.I remember going back to Newcastle and we were playing Brighton away, and we were terrible that night, getting thrashed. Bruce shared on the SACKED! show that he received a phone call from Mike Ashley and thought, ‘okay, here we go’.You know, we’re playing horribly, we just got hammered by Brighton, and the phone rang at quarter eight on a Sunday morning and said, “Hello Steve, good morning.” It’s Mike. I basically stated, ‘I’m not good enough, and I apologize. “We need to improve from our performance last night.”He (Ashley) said, ‘Listen, don’t listen, and don’t read the newspapers; you are, you are my guy, and I’ll back you as much as I can, and if there’s anything I can do to help you, right, I’ll try to help you get on with it. “Make sure you win next Saturday and keep your head up.””The phone went down unexpectedly.”

Sheffield Wednesday fans may have bittersweet optimism for Mike Ashley despite James Bord worries.

Ashley, like Bruce, was a polarizing figure at St James’ Park, with Newcastle fans frequently demonstrating against him owing to what they saw as his lack of desire.

However, while Ashley was hesitant to invest in the transfer market, the Magpies spent 12 of his 14 years as owner in the Premier League, and he undoubtedly gave financial stability to the club, so he could be the ideal candidate to get Wednesday back on track after a dreadful season.

With Owls supporters becoming increasingly anxious about the lengthy wait to find out whether Bord will be given the green light by the EFL, some may still consider Ashley as the preferable option, even though the team might be faced with a 15-point deduction in League One next season if he does not improve on his previous bid of less than £30 million.