Controversial Sheffield United, COH Sports revelation emerges involving Sheffield Wednesday takeover - It is "seriously worrying" | OneFootball

There has been a remarkable turn of events in the Owls' search for a new owner involving their Steel City rivals

In what has been a remarkable 24 hours of fresh takeover news concerning Sheffield Wednesday, it has now emerged that the Hillsborough club have been the subject of a shock inquiry from Sheffield United's American ownership group, COH Sports.

That is according to a report from Tom Morgan of the Telegraph which surfaced on Tuesday night, just hours after it was claimed that one of the several parties interested in taking permanent control of the Owls had put forward a controversial merger plan between the S6 club and the Blades, both of whom still reside inside the Championship's relegation zone at present.

Ironically, such news also comes just days after the first Steel City derby of the campaign was played out at Hillsborough some four weeks after Wednesday were placed into administration by controversial former owner, Dejphon Chansiri. They have since been hit by an automatic 12-point deduction whilst Begbies Traynor continue to oversee day-to-day matters on an interim basis, with the administrators hoping to reveal the identity of their preferred takeover by Friday, December 5th.

However, it is fair to say that developments which have come to light in the past 24 hours or so have certainly created a strong reaction from those on the terraces at Hillsborough and Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United owners COH Sports plotted shock Sheffield Wednesday takeover inquiry amid merger talk

Numerous high-profile names have been linked with a takeover of the Owls, with it recently being reported that ex-Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, is among the final three candidates pinpointed by the trio of Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts and Kris Wigfield to take over the cash-strapped club.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, it was reported by the Daily Mail that one unsuccessful party had plans to merge Wednesday with their cross-city rivals, just days after the club recorded extremely high gate receipts in their defeat against Chris Wilder's side on Sunday thanks to a double from Tyrese Campbell and Tom Cannon's first goal of the season.

It was later claimed by the Telegraph that representatives of United's ownership group, COH Sports, made inquiries about taking over at Hillsborough, and were one of up to 80 parties interested in taking over the club after Chansiri's extremely tumultuous and chaotic 10-year tenure in the boardroom was ended on Friday, October 24th, much to the delight of those associated with Wednesday.

The report does state that what was proposed by COH Sports' representatives within the inquiry remains unknown, and that it is unlikely that any follow-up negotations have since taken place.

The aforementioned ownership group only completed their takeover of United on December 23rd, 2024, purchasing the then newly relegated club in a deal reportedly worth £105m to relinquish former owner, Prince Abdullah's control of the Bramall Lane club.

Since then, Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy have certainly divided opinion amongst Blades fans, especially when taking the events which followed the club's play-off final defeat to Sunderland into account.

The duo parted ways with Wilder and moved to appoint Ruben Selles amid a new AI-driven transfer approach, before reuniting with the 58-year-old for his third stint in the dugout two months ago after the Spaniard lost six games in all competitions.

Although COH Sports haven't yet been tagged as the party wanting to merge the two sides, many supporters have made their suspicions clear on social media.

Another, rather humourously, believed that if a merger was to take place, it would be the Owls leading the way in many decisive aspects.

Another supporter left another rather comical take involving ex-Leeds United duo Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper, both of whom made their debuts for United and Wednesday last Sunday after penning short-term contracts.

Unsurprisingly, though, the consensus is that such plans would barely get off the ground, as echoed by another reaction.

As previously highlighted, one supporter was of the opinion that it showcases how 'out of touch' specific ownership groups can be in relation to the values and cultures of a city and/or region.

As was mentioned in the aforementioned report, it is no shock that such plans haven't progressed further, and COH Sports could certainly receive a frosty reception from both sets of supporters in the meantime, particularly in S2 if fortunes don't change drastically.