How Simon Jordan could be involved in Sheffield Wednesday takeover | OneFootball

Football League World looks at Simon Jordan and his potential involvement in a takeover at Sheffield Wednesday

The Sheffield Wednesday takeover is continuing to rumble on more than three months after the club plunged into administration, which forced Dejphon Chansiri out of Hillsborough while presenting the long-awaited opportunity for fresh ownership.

Wednesdayites have become accustomed to less-than-ideal circumstances and twists and turns appearing both on and off-the-pitch in recent years, and both supporters and the Owls' stand-in administrators - Begbies Traynor - were hoping for a takeover deal to have been completed by this stage.

No shortage of names have been linked with a potential purchase of the Owls, who came closest to securing a takeover with the efforts of James Bord's consortium.

However, the group dramatically pulled the plug on the proposed takeover just last week after deeming their offer of £47.8 million to be too high, meaning the saga remains open once more amid Mike Ashley's re-emerging interest in assuming the helm.

Further names have been linked and connected to the takeover, and one which has seldom gone away is Simon Jordan. The talkSPORT pundit is experienced in football ownership, having previously owned Crystal Palace between 2000 and 2010, and he could end up having a serious involvement in any takeover in S6.

But how exactly could that happen and what's the situation at play? Football League World takes a closer look...

Simon Jordan's previous interest in a potential Sheffield Wednesday takeover

The presenter was linked with a takeover of Sheffield Wednesday back in December as part of a group led by local businessman Ryan Howsam, with the pair enjoying a strong and well-documented friendship.

Indeed, it's said that Jordan was pencilled in to lead the management of the Owls alongside Howsam, whose group had entered the initial takeover process before withdrawing their interest ahead of the bidding stage owing to concerns regarding the outlined price point.

This, of course, involves the EFL's '25p rule', which requires clubs to fork out a 25 per cent payment on owed finances to creditors upon exiting administration. If that rule is not met with compliance, a 15-point deduction for the following campaign can be sanctioned - which would spell immediate concerns over Wednesday's ability to survive in League One after suffering the quickest relegation in English Football League history this term under Henrik Pedersen.

The real sticking point is that the EFL's rule would require significant payments to Chansiri, whose reputation in the footballing world now lies in tatters following years of mismanagement and crises in the blue-and-white quarters of the Steel City.

That rule left Jordan infuriated with the EFL, while the 58-year-old also voiced that he had no intention of 'running a football club for six years' when discussing the situation live on talkSPORT back in December.

It doesn't look like Jordan will be in line to advance with a potential takeover bid anytime soon, yet the saga has endured so many twists, so perhaps, at this stage, never say never.

Ryan Howsam's recent Sheffield Wednesday, Simon Jordan takeover conversations

Although Jordan has made his position clear on potentially taking over Sheffield Wednesday, Howsam himself appears to be more open to the possibility.

That, however, will seemingly lie on one condition, with Howsam recently revealing that he needs assurances from the current administrators that a 15-point deduction next term would not occur.

There is a £30 million reserve price in place, which includes the covering of debts and owed monies to Chansiri, and it doesn't seem as though Howsam is willing to meet that figure.

Speaking to The Star, Howsam detailed recent discussions with Jordan and how he now feels about the prospect of trying to take the club over. Howsam explained his position on what would need to be required for any takeover efforts to amplify, too, with the pair's involvement in the potential purchase of the Owls now unlikely to extend further.

He stated: "I've had a chat with [Simon Jordan] actually.

"But I think ultimately the reality is that there's no way I will be paying the minimum amount to get the club without a sanction.

"So the only way that I would entertain anything would be on the basis of them coming to the table and saying that there would be no sanctioning at the bid that I would put in.

"That’s just the reality of it.

"Beyond the sanction, there is the point with regards to Simon and whether he’d be involved.

"He’s been pretty unequivocal, hasn’t he? He is a mate, though, so you just never know.

"I had a chat with him, I asked him what he thought, and I think he’s at a point where it’s moved on from him with other things he's got going on and so on. And he would have been an important person for me to go in and do it with if I was doing it.

"But even with Simon, even if a lower-level bid was accepted, going in with that 15-point deduction is just not a smart place to start. I’m definitely interested but on that basis, it's unlikely, to be honest."