Sheffield Wednesday facing untimely financial blow involving £2.5m flop Ike Ugbo | OneFootball

The next instalment for the Canadian striker lands new financial blow

Sheffield Wednesday's proposed takeover by James Bord is still yet to move close to completion, and the administrators are bracing themselves for another financial blow in the coming weeks which involves out of favour striker Ike Ugbo.

Relegation to League One is almost a certainty now for the Owls, who are struggling on and off the pitch as they look for a solution to replace Dejphon Chansiri as their owner, with Bord - who was named as the preferred bidder on Christmas Eve - yet to pass the relevant checks with the EFL.

And a new financial hit is set to come for Wednesday and their administrators, and f a club already in administration and staring down the barrel of relegation, it is another reminder that the consequences of past decisions continue to shape a deeply uncertain present.

Sheffield Wednesday face £500k Ike Ugbo payment amid administration fears

An update from journalist Alan Nixon paints a bleak picture when it comes to the significant six-figure payment that Sheffield Wednesday need to make soon.

The Owls’ administrators are once again scrambling to balance the books as the next chunk of Ike Ugbo's transfer fee from 2024 - a £500,000 instalment - becomes payable.

The striker was signed permanently from French side Troyes in August a year-and-a-half ago for £2.5 million, following a productive loan spell, but the structure of the deal means Wednesday are still committed to further installments.

Those payments, Nixon notes, cannot be ignored.

Failure to meet their obligations to Troyes would leave the club vulnerable to FIFA sanctions, adding another layer of risk to an already precarious situation.

It is a stark illustration of how transfer business agreed in more optimistic times can become an anchor when circumstances rapidly deteriorate.

Compounding the issue is Ugbo’s wage. He is understood to be the club’s second-highest earner, a status that sits uncomfortably alongside his return since the move became permanent - Capology estimate that the Canada international is on £20,000 a week at Hillsborough.

While former head coach Danny Rohl was said to have pushed for the deal, the goals that once made Ugbo a cult hero during his loan spell have evaporated. Since signing full-time, he has not scored a league goal for the Owls, and that has been a real worry for everyone involved.

Ugbo’s struggles are emblematic of a broader crisis. Under Henrik Pedersen, Wednesday remain rooted to the bottom of the Championship on minus seven points.

Ugbo’s personal drought now stretches beyond 50 Championship appearances without a goal, making him increasingly difficult to move on in a market that is already limited by the club’s embargo.

The January window offers little immediate relief. Wednesday are short of numbers and restricted in what they can do, meaning offloading Ugbo now would create as many problems as it solves.

A summer exit looks more realistic, but with a contract running until 2028 and form in freefall, any fee is likely to represent a significant loss.

That sense of being trapped extends beyond one player. Interest in Barry Bannan, the club captain and emotional heartbeat of the side, underlines the pressure building at Hillsborough.

Clubs in England and Scotland are circling, aware that Wednesday cannot offer improved terms and that administrators ultimately hold the cards.

Interest for Max Lowe, Charlie McNeill, Pierce Charles, Bailey Cadamarteri and Yisa Alao has also punctuated the January window thus far.

All of this plays out against the backdrop of a proposed takeover by a consortium led by James Bord. Supporters are desperate for ratification, hoping new ownership can finally draw a line under years of chaos.

Yet even if Bord’s bid is approved, it will not magic away existing liabilities. The Ugbo payments, and others like them, remain part of the inheritance.

For Wednesday fans, the frustration is not simply about one misfiring striker or one overdue instalment. It is about a pattern of short-term gambles that have left the club exposed when the money ran out.

As another bill lands on the desk, the lesson feels painfully familiar: the cost of survival decisions is still being paid, long after the optimism has faded.