Sheffield Wednesday are now looking forward to a new and potentially exciting era under David Storch as he continues to intensify his takeover ambitions of the Championship crisis team ahead of their return to the League. One in the 2026/27 season, yet one issue will immediately confront the Owls in the third tier – and it has been the topic of much debate.

In February, the Owls became the first side in English Football League history to be relegated, following a 2-1 defeat away to Steel City rivals Sheffield United.

Relegation, however, was a foregone conclusion for Henrik Pedersen’s side before a ball was even kicked this season, thanks to a slew of crises at the hands of now-ex-chairman Dejphon Chansiri, whose failure to pay wages on time resulted in the Hillsborough outfit being docked 18 points by the EFL earlier in the campaign.

The Thai businessman’s often-destructive influence is still causing problems behind the scenes months after his departure, which sent the club into administration, and Storch has encountered no shortage of roadblocks as his Arise Capital Partners consortium attempts to finalize a takeover.

That’s because, at the moment, Wednesday will begin the following campaign with a -15 point penalty due to Storch’s group’s bid of around 6p in the pound to unsecured creditors – specifically Chansiri – which falls far short of the required threshold of 25p in the pound to avoid such sanctions.

Storch has spoken out in protest of the decision, revealing futile attempts to connect with Chansiri in a recent admission, and many have questioned the EFL’s willingness to punish the Owls more after so much suffering.

Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness has urged the EFL to make an exception for Sheffield Wednesday and not penalize them for Chansiri’s mistakes, as the David Storch takeover continues.

It’s a perspective shared by many, and Wyness believes the EFL should adopt a more club-first strategy in situations like Wednesday’s.

Wyness told Football Insider: “The EFL will most likely declare that this is how they intend to apply the regulations consistently across all instances.

“However, this only punishes the club, not a terrible owner in Chansiri. “That is the attitude they must adopt.”They are now doing everything the EFL and the new independent regulator have stated they do not want to do.

This is about helping and rescuing football teams, and what they’re doing now is making it even difficult. Although Chansiri tried hard at first, he eventually proved to be a lousy owner.

“He should not be rewarded or given any help with his investment.”I’m afraid the EFL will have to look at the rulebook and make an exception in this circumstance, which should be welcomed by other EFL clubs.

“That is the way forward, to support clubs themselves and make sure the punishment is not on the club but is on the owner that creates the problem.”

Sheffield Wednesday need a fresh start under David Storch.

One of the primary complaints among Sheffield Wednesday fans in recent weeks has been that Chansiri’s presence, as well as the wreckage he left behind, is still causing problems and creating obstacles for Storch to overcome in his admirable attempts to take over the League One-bound club.

Wednesday went through so much turmoil in the latter stages of Chansiri’s reign, and Storch is already well aware of the clean-up job that awaits him at Hillsborough, but the Owls now need to move on and would be furious with yet another steep points deduction if they fell under new ownership.

It is unclear when Wednesday will truly have a clean slate, but that will not matter for the time being because fans are simply eager for Storch’s takeover to be completed.