Sheffield Wednesday went into administration five months ago on March 24, and many linked with the club are counting down the days until they can finally move on and look forward.

Given how marketable Wednesday appeared to be when Dejphon Chansiri put the club into administration in late October, many expected the process to be quick. In truth, it has been anything but.

The consortium led by James Bord withdrew from their proposed £47.8 million buyout in February, three months after being declared preferred bidders, claiming that the money they had set aside to invest in the club was no longer justified.

While the club was not back on the market for long, Arise’s bid has its own concerns, in that it does not pay creditors the 25p in the pound required by the EFL’s insolvency rules, implying that a 15-point deduction to begin next season appears certain.

Wednesday might also face a £7k-per-week salary cap and a transfer ban next season, putting the club in serious danger of being relegated to League Two for the second time in a row.

Nonetheless, the process appears to be moving forward, which is necessary because a delay until May would require the new Independent Football Regulator to pass further tests.

The new IFR ruling comes into effect in May, and it could affect the Sheffield Wednesday purchase.

Since the new Independent Football Regulator was founded in the summer, it has been known that when new owners are put through tests in May, they will handle the procedures, not the EFL.

David Storch initially set a May deadline for their acquisition attempt, not just to expedite the process, but also to avoid having to restart their vetting processes.

In an interview with the Sheffield Star on March 16, Richard Monks, CEO of the IFR, indicated that the new regulator was in contact with EFL clubs and requested that they tell them of any conversations about new ownership.We don’t want an individual director or owner to be 95% of the way through the EFL process by the end of April – that finishes abruptly, and our new process begins in May,” he explained.

Monks also understood that David Storch was going through the Owners and Directors exams, so there’s some optimism that the sale would be completed before the new checks start in just over a month, since otherwise this procedure could take considerably longer than expected.

A new update raises hopes that Sheffield Wednesday’s takeover will be completed before IFR restrictions are implemented.

According to the Sheffield Star, Arise, the EFL, the IFR, and the administrators at Begbies Traynor held a video conversation, with discussions going more smoother than those with prior preferred bidder James Bord.

The IFR was involved to “guard against the risk of the takeover continuing into May,” implying that there is some hope and confidence that the transaction will be completed within the next month.

Otherwise, David Storch and the other top members of Arise would have to go through further checks. Checks that they hope to pass, but it would add further days to this administrative period, which has already lasted longer than expected.

The longer it goes on, the less time Wednesday has to fight against the proposed recruitment limits that would be imposed on them, limiting their capacity to rebuild in time to begin their 2017 League One campaign.

So, there will be hope that the processes may be completed before May, as failure to do so will just add to the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future.