When Sheffield Wednesday can start paying fees to make player signings again | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday will still feel the effects of Dejphon Chansiri for multiple years.

An air of positivity surrounds Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in recent memory after being placed into administration.

The Owls have suffered a great deal of torment in 2025 due to former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s financial mismanagement, which saw him fail to pay players on time for five of the last seven months of his reign.

This led to operators such as Josh Windass and Michael Smith leaving on a free transfer in the summer, strengthening fellow Championship sides Wrexham and Preston North End in the process.

Chansiri’s poor decision-making finally caught up with him, and he was forced to place Wednesday into administration after failing to satisfy a £1m HMRC tax bill.

This has seen the Steel City side hit with a 12-point penalty, almost confirming their relegation to League One, but spirits remain high around Hillsborough.

For the first time in what will feel like forever, supporters can picture a future without the Thai businessman in charge, and the future glory that may bring.

Sheffield Wednesday will feel the effect of Dejphon Chansiri in future transfer windows

Chansiri’s financial woes also saw Wednesday placed under five embargoes throughout 2025, which limited their transfer business to loan deals for Ethan Horvath and Harry Amass respectively.

The Guardian have revealed that the Owls won’t be able to pay transfer fees until the summer of 2027 due to the Thai businessman’s antics, which could severely hamper a potential League One promotion bid next term.

Further point deductions could be on the way for Wednesday too, as an independent commission has been appointed to hear charges relating to the late payment of player wages last March and May.

Determining the outcome of charges regarding the late payment of wages in June, July and September will be down to an independent club financial review panel, which could bring even further trouble.

Therefore, although by 2027 Chansiri will hopefully only represent a horrifying memory of the past, his actions whilst in charge of Wednesday will still be directly contributing to their on-pitch performance.

Sheffield Wednesday will have to rely heavily on free agents and loan deals

Given that the Owls won’t be able to pay transfer fees until the summer of 2027, there will be a heavy reliance on them to utilise other avenues to remain competitive.

The lure of playing for a Wednesday side on the up under new ownership will be strong and may allow them to attract more talent than others, but not being able to provide any transfer fee will naturally harm their business.

With relegation to League One already extremely likely, the Steel City side’s recruitment team should already be focusing on the summer of 2026, and which players are running out of contract.

Therefore, they can steal a march on their rivals and snap up some talent which could pay dividends in May 2027.