Ryan Howsam: Simon Jordan could've been Sheffield Wednesday's 'Tom Brady' as failed takeover plan revealed | OneFootball

Ryan Howsam has revealed that he was behind Simon Jordan's involvement in a Sheffield Wednesday takeover

Ryan Howsam has revealed he was behind Simon Jordan’s interest in a Sheffield Wednesday takeover, and that the ex-Crystal Palace chairman could've been a 'Tom Brady-esque' figure at the club.

The Owls have been up for sale since late October via administrators, when former owner Dejphon Chansiri placed them into administration after being unable to satisfy a £1m HMRC bill.

Despite being hit with an automatic 12-point deduction, which has since been increased to 18, all but confirming their relegation down to League One, a large number of interested parties have presented themselves.

Ex-Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley made a £20m bid for the Steel City side, which was immediately bettered by three other offers.

US billionaire John McEvoy has been credited with a strong interest in purchasing the Owls, whilst Sheffield United’s owners also reportedly made a shock enquiry about a takeover.

Another name that had been linked with buying Wednesday was Ryan Howsam. The locally-born insurance tycoon who now resides in Dubai has now spoken publicly about his involvement in the process, and what his plans for the club would’ve been.

Ryan Howsam opens up on Simon Jordan involvement in Sheffield Wednesday bid as Tom Brady claim made

It was revealed last week that former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT host Simon Jordan pursued a potential takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, but backed out due to concerns over financially compensating Chansiri.

Howsam has now revealed in an interview with the Sheffield Star, that he was the driving force behind Jordan’s involvement.

“When I got to reading a bit about Sheffield Wednesday I picked up the phone and spoke to Simon,” stated Howsam. “Given I'm from Sheffield, knowing a bit about Wednesday and its history, I thought it would be a really good opportunity to really build out in a different way.

“I asked Simon's opinion and he was interested, so we decided to take a look at it.”

Although they were able to prove the £50m funds necessary to progress into the final stages of a potential takeover, the bid ultimately fell apart when it was decided that they didn’t want to compensate Chansiri, and therefore the cost of buying Wednesday had risen too high.

Howsam admitted that while he was Sheffield-born, he didn’t have any real preference for Wednesday or United, instead a supporter of any sporting talent coming out of the city.

Although their bid didn’t progress into the final stages, 59-year-old Howsam has admitted that a Wrexham-style documentary would’ve been an avenue they’d have explored if successful, and that Birmingham City minority owner and NFL legend Tom Brady would've been someone to aspire to if a takeover was done - and Jordan would've been that figurehead.

“I think something like that could have happened with Wednesday, especially with Simon involved,” Howsam said.

“It's that type of thing I was thinking about. Look, every business guy thinks they can achieve things in different industries and that can also be a recipe for disaster, but I have done things with a sporting franchise albeit with golf.

“I've watched the Wrexham stuff but particularly with the Tom Brady thing at Birmingham, he's such an impressive character. The way that his mind works, you need that type of mindset at that club somebody who is relentlessly positive about what you can do and where you can go. That's what I try to bring to my businesses and with Simon would have brought it to Sheffield Wednesday.”

Ryan Howsam and Simon Jordan may have split opinion at Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday supporters aren’t likely to be massively fussed about who exactly takes over their club next, as long as they have suitable finances and the Owls’ best interests at heart.

However, Jordan and Howsam may have split opinion among the Steel City side’s fanbase.

The talkSPORT host has attracted many followers and detractors due to his outspoken nature, whilst other supporters may be conscious of his previous history in ownership, when he was forced to place Palace into administration.

Coupled with Howsam’s relatively unknown status in the game, some of the Hillsborough faithful may have seriously questioned whether they were the correct people to lead Wednesday forward.

Alas, there is no possibility of that happening now, with all attention turning to the upcoming weeks to see who will win out in the race for the Owls’ ownership.