Simon Jordan has stated that he led a company that was interested in purchasing Sheffield Wednesday.
Although Wednesday received an automatic 12-point deduction as a result, thereby confirming their relegation to League One, up to 80 parties expressed an interest in taking over at Hillsborough.
This list included US billionaire John McEvoy and Sheffield-born insurance mogul Ryan Howsam, who were reported to be among the other interested parties.
Mike Ashley’s £20 million bid to become the next Owls owner was recently rejected, with three additional offers of £30 million surpassing it almost immediately.
While the identities of all parties interested in taking over Wednesday remain unknown, Jordan has stated that he was a member of one consortium.
Simon Jordan reveals the Sheffield Wednesday ownership bid.
With a date of December 5 set for when a new owner may be disclosed, there is still plenty of time for any of the remaining parties to step in and capture the Steel City side.
It has been rumored that a number of US consortiums are serious about becoming the Owls’ new owners, but their identities are unknown.
Jordan, on the other hand, has not remained secret. He recently acknowledged on talkSPORT that he led a syndicate interested in acquiring Sheffield Wednesday FC.
“I put together a consortium of people, very well-heeled people, proved up £50 million to have a look at Sheffield Wednesday,” Jordan told me.
“It’s a club that I’ve always pushed for because I believe it’s a major club waiting to happen again if it has appropriate management, ownership, direction, and discipline in terms of rebuilding it as a football club.
“But it is heavily questioned. I decided not to pursue it because I dislike the concept of rewarding Chasiri by forcing him to pay a large sum of money in order to avoid being sanctioned again by the Football League.
“I’d be pleased to own Sheffield Wednesday and have a 15-point penalty this season because it makes no difference. “You’re going to be relegated and won’t have it next year.”
Sheffield Wednesday fans may have had mixed views about Simon Jordan’s takeover.
Jordan has admitted that he has pulled out of the running to become Wednesday’s next owner due to concerns about getting Chansiri out of financial problems.
However, if he had continued into the final phases of the process and won, it may have been tremendously divisive among Hillsborough supporters.
On the one hand, Jordan has extensive expertise in the game, having previously controlled Crystal Palace, which means he would be well-positioned to guide Wednesday through this difficult phase.
However, he made a series of questionable strategic decisions while in control of the Eagles and was eventually forced to place them in administration, so some Owls fans would be apprehensive of him taking over.
Although the chance of it happening has been eliminated, it would have been fascinating to see what Jordan might have done differently as Sheffield Wednesday owner.
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