Sheffield Wednesday administrators have picked David Storch as their preferred bidder, but leading the Owls into the next chapter will present unique and difficult challenges.

Storch’s group will now have exclusive rights to finalize a Wednesday takeover, while the Owls will begin next season’s League One campaign with a 15-point deduction due to the bid being less than the amount required to pay creditors at 25p in the pound.

James Bord, the previous bidder for the South Yorkshire outfit, thought that his offer was too high for the Championship team.

Meanwhile, Wednesday avoided defeat for the first time in 2026 with a 1-1 draw at Watford on Tuesday, but were let down by the Hornets’ late equaliser.

Sheffield Wednesday poised for stringent salary limitations as David Storch’s ownership looms.

Steve Chu, a Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust spokesman, has revealed talks he had with Storch, while journalist Dom Howson has revealed via X that the Owls’ preferred bidder is confident the EFL would sanction the sale.

According to The Athletic, the American billionaire must face questions about a $55 million payment made by AAR Corp in 2024 to resolve Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In 2019, Storch served as the chairman of AAR Corp.

Meanwhile, according to the Sheffield Star, one of the EFL’s constraints on the Owls next season will be that individual player pay cannot exceed £7,000 per week, and their total salary cost would be capped at £7 million.

To put those figures in context, Capology believes that eight current League One clubs have a pay expense of more than £7 million each year.

The Owls also have 13 players who are now predicted to make more than £7k per week.

Sheffield Wednesday’s EFL wage restriction was considered unreasonable.

Wednesday have already had an exceptionally difficult Championship season, winning only one game in 37 second-tier appearances.

As a result, it is unsurprising that news that the South Yorkshire club will face extremely strict pay limitations next season, as well as a 15-point deduction, has many Owls supporters feeling betrayed.

Henrik Pedersen’s team has already been punished 18 points this season, and their financial woes have resulted in numerous player exits, including Hillsborough mainstay and legend Barry Bannan.

Former top players Josh Windass and Michael Smith left South Yorkshire last summer after former owner Dejphon Chansiri repeatedly failed to pay their salary on time.

On Tuesday, Joe Crann of the Sheffield Star posted on X: “I understand the -15, it’s in the regulations, and if it’s waived, it could set a dangerous precedent.”However, a £7k pay cap on top of the deduction and fee restriction seems completely needless and unjustifiable. “Absolutely unfair.”

A supporter of the Owls commented on Crann’s tweet, calling it vindictive and putting the club at risk of relegation again.At every stage, the EFL regulations have made matters worse than they should be. “Rules designed for a completely different scenario than Wednesday’s.”

If the Storch consortium completes their Wednesday takeover, they will most certainly struggle to assemble a squad capable of avoiding relegation to League Two, given their forthcoming deduction and constraints.