Sheff Wed ‘days from takeover’ with Ashley leading contender

One of two bidders close to buying Sheffield Wednesday is former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, with captain Barry Bannan calling for a “boost” of a takeover.

Dejphon Chansiri’s decade-long ownership of the Championship club was ended when The Owls were placed in administration in October.

In a statement released on Friday, joint-administrator Kris Wigfield stated that while “genuine progress is being made,” “periods of confidentiality are essential” and that “genuine progress is being made.”

According to Bannan, that might occur soon.

In the upcoming days, ideally, there should be a new owner, Bannan told BBC Sport. We anticipate that because the takeover is close, they say.

We must have it without a doubt. We currently need a boost because we have a lot of games to lose.

There are currently two rival offers that appear to be active.

The Storch family and billionaire John McEvoy made a joint bid for one of their properties, one of Ashley, and the other of them.

According to reports, paying the administrators and creditors would cost about £35 million.

The new owner’s payment will be below the English Football League (EFL) insolvency threshold if it is less than this amount. For their debt, unsecured creditors who are not directly related to football or HMRC must be paid at least 25p in the pound.

The club will lose 15 points if that level is not reached. That will be applied when the EFL will decide when, but typically it will do so at the start of the following season.

If Wednesday, who is currently at the bottom of the standings, starts League One next season with -15 points, it would be very difficult to do so right away. In the play-off final against Doncaster, Leeds almost succeeded in winning.

Whoever purchases the Owls will have to pay significantly more to upgrade the training facility and Hillsborough Stadium.

The North Stand was closed by the council over the summer due to structural concerns, before the club’s first home game of the season was immediately lifted.

If Ashley is chosen as the preferred bidder, it will mark his return to football following his 2007-to-2021 ownership of Newcastle.

Many supporters were not happy with the founder of Sports Direct. Although the Magpies were twice dropped from the Championship during his time there, he did have a reputation for operating the club effectively.

When Ashley purchased the club, Newcastle was valued at £131 million. For £305 million, he sold it to the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

The 61-year-old has been linked with investment in several troubled clubs in recent years, including Coventry City and Derby County. He once held a minority stake in Rangers.

In November of this year, Ashley’s Frasers Group decided to dissolve Coventry’s ground, before selling it to the club this summer.

The EFL officially stated on Friday that no additional sporting sanctions would be imposed this year.

13 of the Owls’ 20 games have been lost, and they have only won one championship game. They are 29 points away from safety, with relegation to League One appearing to be a formality.

Bannan, 36, argued that the players needed to find a way to continue their form.

He said, “Administration can only be held accountable for the points deductions” and “there is only so much you can do.”

“We must now begin to win games.” Our performances don’t make sense to us. We must perform far better.

There are no excuses at this time. We anticipate seeing it.

After Josh Windass and Michael Smith left their contracts, the club was left with a dwindling squad. Djeidi Gassama and Anthony Musaba, two renowned players, were sold.

Over the holiday season, Wednesday will have four games in ten days, and resources are already running out.

While injuries have started to get worse, Yan Valery and Sean Fusire have already left for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Henrik Pedersen, the manager, stated this week that he only had the U21 and U18 squads and only eight “senior players with championship experience.”

” It’s hard, “Bannan said”. Because of this, some performances are high and we’re really good at playing games, but others we’re likely to fade a little bit.

The squad size and inability to make a lot of substitutions contribute to that.

We’re requesting that the same players produce minutes after minutes. It regresses.

“But there is no need for excuses,” he said. We are aware of our commitments. We just need to keep going, with the hope that good news will arrive soon.

In order to increase their numbers, Wednesday received a special dispensation last month to sign Liam Cooper and Nathan Redmond as free agents.

If a takeover is completed in time for the transfer window of the following month, Bannan said, “it would be great.”

He continued, “We can get to January and hopefully get a little more help with players and start going on a run.”