Sheffield Wednesday Takeover: The Wild £15m “Pub Bet” Story Behind Mike Ashley | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday prospective buyer Mike Ashley was involved in a high-profile legal dispute with investment banker Jeffrey Blue

Mike Ashley is one of the two frontrunners to buy Sheffield Wednesday amid fellow interest from David Storch.

Wednesday's administrators received several offers for the Hillsborough club on Friday, which will allow them to move to the next stage of the sale process.

Administrators Begbies Traynor must select their next preferred bidder, who will then be subject to the EFL's Owners' and Directors Test, while the power to ratify takeovers will lie with the Independent Football Regulator by May.

Former preferred bidder James Bord's Wednesday takeover deal collapsed, with the American ultimately deciding that the amount he bid exceeded the value of the South Yorkshire outfit.

While Ashley and Storch are the two most likely candidates to be named as the Owls' preferred bidder, former Sunderland co-owner Charlie Methven is also in the Wednesday takeover frame.

Methven was also Charlton Athletic's CEO before resigning from that role last season, and worked for the Addicks during their promotion-winning campaign.

Ashley is a well-known figure in the English game, and, naturally, there are plenty of stories that follow him around.

Mike Ashley was once involved in £15m legal dispute with investment banker Jeffrey Blue

As reported by The Guardian in 2017, Ashley won a high court battle against investment banker Jeffrey Blue, who alleged that the then Newcastle United owner owed him £15million.

Blue claimed that during a night of heavy drinking at a London pub in January 2013, Ashley said that he would pay him £15m if the share price in Sports Direct doubled to £8, which happened by February 2014.

As revealed by The Guardian last March, the ex-Newcastle owner still owns 73 percent of Frasers Group, who are the parent company of Sports Direct.

The court ruled in Ashley's favour regarding his case with Blue, as Justice Legatt added: "The Sports Direct senior management meetings certainly show that Mr Ashley is happy to combine discussion of business matters with the consumption of alcohol.

"But there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Ashley has ever negotiated or concluded a contract at one of these meetings. The evening at the Horse and Groom was, in any event, a considerably less formal occasion than the senior management meetings, as there was no agenda or structure for the occasion, and the conversation was largely social or general chat, rather than being specifically directed to any business subject."

Ashley has described the incident as "banter over drinks".

Mike Ashley gathers support from prominent figures associated with Sheffield Wednesday

Ashley grew unpopular with Newcastle supporters before the Magpies were bought by their current Saudi-led consortium in October 2021.

The prospective Wednesday buyer was at the North East side's ownership helm for 14 years, and the St James' Park faithful became tired of his perceived lack of ambition.

Newcastle were twice relegated during Ashley's reign, whereas they have twice qualified for the Champions League and won the EFL Cup since his exit.

However, Ashley has promised to splash £100m on Wednesday, and the Owls' ambitions are not as lofty as those of the Magpies, having suffered relegation to League One this term.

The 61-year-old has also received the backing of the likes of ex-Wednesday star Carlton Palmer, who made over 200 appearances for the South Yorkshire side, and also received 18 England caps.

Former England cricketer and Owls supporter Michael Vaughan is also keen on the idea of an Ashley takeover, and wrote: "Good" on X, quoting a post from The Telegraph that revealed the former Newcastle owner was set to lodge a revised bid.