If James Bord seals Sheffield Wednesday takeover - Owls can hit the transfer jackpot | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday will hope that they don't have to sell Charlie McNeill on the cheap

Sheffield Wednesday's on-field fate has been sealed, and with League One imminent, all eyes are now on whether James Bord's takeover will go through, and if so, when?

It's been a difficult year for the Owls, who had their senior squad gutted during the summer due to late wage payments by former owner Dejphon Chansiri and his financial issues that ultimately led the club to be placed into administration in October.

During the summer, Wednesday saw the likes of Josh Windass, Michael Smith, Akin Femewo, Callum Paterson, among others, depart for free, and while Djedi Gassama was at least sold for a fee, the reported £2.2 million recouped for him didn't reflect his quality and potential at the time.

Unfortunately, even with Chansiri out of the door, player departures didn't stop in January, as the administrators looked to continue balancing the books at Hillsborough.

Club legend Barry Bannan was let go to Millwall, while young striker Bailey Cadamarteri was sold for a seven-figure fee to Wrexham, and again, the club would have likely wanted to bring in more, but were unable to due to their dire financial situation.

Hopefully, that will spell the end of the cheap sales of players, as James Bord waits in the wings for the EFL to pass him as a fit and proper owner, while funding the club's running costs in the meantime.

As soon as he gets through the door at Hillsborough, there will be some optimism that some of their remaining young prospects, most notably Charlie McNeill, could be part of the League One rebuild, or at least depart for a sizable fee.

Charlie McNeill has shown plenty of promise so far this season

There was plenty of excitement surrounding McNeill when he arrived at the club in the first place in 2024, having come through the academies at both Manchester City and Manchester United, establishing himself at the latter as a clinical goalscorer at youth level.

He couldn't get a sniff in his first season at Hillsborough, but as has unfortunately been the case throughout the entirety of the ongoing campaign, young players have had to be thrown in at the deep end due to a thin squad.

It's been the one positive out of Sheffield Wednesday this season. That the likes of Sean Fusire, Gabriel Otegbayo and Ernie Weaver have shown promise for the future. Even in the first half of the campaign, the situation at Hillsborough allowed a platform for Manchester United's Harry Amass to showcase his talent.

But above all of those, and arguably the one prospect that Owls fans can't wait to see in action more often in the future is McNeill, who has really established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet since late November.

The 22-year-old's first league goals for the club nearly saw him score a hat-trick in a 3-2 defeat against Preston North End, and he followed that up with a goal in a 1-1 draw against Watford a week-and-a-half later.

His output may have dried up since, but a good finish in the Steel City derby defeat against Sheffield United has reminded fans how good he can be, and in a side that creates good chances, which Wednesday will hope to be next season, he could be a big asset for them.

James Bord takeover needs to happen soon to avoid missing out on millions for Charlie McNeill

It's coming close to three months since Sheffield Wednesday went exclusive with the consortium led by James Bord, and with confirmation that the Owls will be spending next season in League One, the focus now is on making sure that they're in the best place to bounce back.

Having the youngsters who have proven they can handle the level of the Championship in their squad for the upcoming third-tier campaign will be key, but with relegation could come a demand for those players.

If Sheffield Wednesday are in a position where they don't need to sell McNeill, they could easily hold out for a healthy fee for the 22-year-old. If he stays, though, he could be that 15-20 goal striker that every side in the third tier clamours for.

But, if the takeover hasn't been completed come the summer, and the administrators need to generate money somehow to keep the club afloat, then the same as what happened to Gassama and Cadamarteri may end up being the fate of McNeill — being sold for way less than many Owls fans would have hoped.