Sheffield Wednesday must be looking at massive Liverpool, Alexander Isak bid with envy | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday have an asking price of £100 million while Liverpool have seen a £110 million bid rejected for Alexander Isak

The disparity between the Premier League and the EFL is highlighted clearly by the contrasting fortunes of Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

The Owls are struggling to pay their bills after coming 12th in the Championship last year, and have seen a number of players depart Hillsborough as a result.

The likes of Josh Windass and Michael Smith were able to rip up their contracts after repeated failures to be paid on time by owner Dejphon Chansiri, leading to protests from supporters regarding his control of the Yorkshire outfit.

The team have gone into the new campaign with a barebones squad, and an inexperienced coach at the helm in Henrik Pedersen.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have responded to a 20th title win by adding Florian Wirtz for a reported £116 million fee, while also seeing a separate offer for Alexander Isak worth £110 million turned down by Newcastle United.

Sheffield Wednesday’s jealousy of Liverpool

Sheffield Wednesday supporters are now going month by month wondering whether their players will be paid on time, while Liverpool line up massive offers to sign talented stars to Arne Slot’s team.

It was reported earlier this summer that Chansiri has set an asking price of £100 million for his control in the Owls.

Nobody could blame supporters of the Championship side if they were looking on with envy at their Anfield counterparts.

The Thai businessman has yet to receive any offers that reach that £100 million figure, and it’s likely nobody will go that high in their attempts to buy the club.

But Liverpool are offering even more than that to just buy one player in Isak, having already spent more than £100 million to bring Wirtz to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen.

The gulf between the EFL and the Premier League has become a major talking point due to the difficulty promoted sides have found in trying to remain in the top flight in the last couple of seasons.

The last six sides to be promoted have all gone straight back down, but even mid-table Championship teams are beginning to get cut adrift from those very clubs.

Sheffield Wednesday were supposed to be a team back on the rise after gaining promotion from League One in 2023, and a 12th place finish last season should’ve been a sign of the building blocks being in place for a promotion push.

But the Premier League looks an entirely different world away when Liverpool can spend so much while the Owls can’t afford to pay their monthly wages.

Redistribution deal rejected by the EFL

It was reported last week that the EFL rejected an offer from the Premier League that would lead to better redistribution of wealth across the top four divisions.

The offer was made last April, but it was turned down due to it not reaching the EFL’s demands.

It was significant because the offer was rejected just before a bill was passed by the UK government that will introduce independent regulation to the sport, which will likely address this issue once it is officially formed, if it remains unresolved much longer.

It has been claimed that the EFL are seeking 25 per cent of the Premier League’s broadcast deal, which has become a massive source of revenue for the division.

It is not just Liverpool that are spending big in the Premier League, but the contrast in significance of the £100 million mark between the Reds and Sheffield Wednesday does stand out.