Sheffield Wednesday takeover news: Hillsborough 'issue' emerges, Ryan Howsam and Simon Jordan link | OneFootball

It's been another busy week at Hillsborough with regard to the club's imminent takeover, so here's a round-up on the latest from Sheffield Wednesday.

With the future of Sheffield Wednesday still up in the air, there's been a steady flow of stories regarding what will happen next for the beleaguered South Yorkshire club, so here's a round-up of the latest stories from Hillsborough.

December has started with the future of Sheffield Wednesday still unclear. Bids have now been received for the troubled South Yorkshire club, and it's expected that an announcement will be made in the next couple of weeks over whom the new owners of the club will be.

Since Wednesday were put into administration on the 24th October, there has been considerable interest in buying the club, and there have been number of ongoing stories confirming the future of the club. So here's a round-up of the latest from Hillsborough, as the Owls prepare for a new chapter in their lengthy history.

The administrators have got a valuation of Hillsborough in order to facilitate the sale of the club

Journalist Alan Nixon has reported that the Sheffield Wednesday administrators, Begbie's Traynor, have got a valuation of Hillsborough in order to facilitate the sale of the club and stadium together, and that this could be bad news for soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Nixon reported through his Patreon that the valuation, "which is ‘a fair bit’ less than the £60 million wanted by former owner Dejphon Chansiri", could mean that the owner of the club loses out on money that he spent to buy it in the first place.

When the club were put into administration on the 24th October, two businesses made that formal legal step. Not only were Sheffield Wednesday passed over to the insolvency specialists, but S3 Holdings, the company owned by Chansiri who are the legal owners of Hillsborough, were as well.

He also notes that "the value of the ground is the major issue to be settled" before the sale of the club can be completed. But in the event that there is a dispute over this, Chansiri would have to demonstrate that his valuation of Hillsborough would have to be based on something more realistic than what he feels he should get for it.

The EFL have confirmed a further six-point deduction for the club

The EFL confirmed at the start of the week that Sheffield Wednesday have been docked a further six points over their failure to pay players in March, May and June, as well as other non-payments to staff and HMRC.

This deduction leaves the club 27 points from safety at the foot of the Championship table and, given that they've only won one game out of 18 in the League so far this season, can only realistically be considered the final nail in the coffin of any faint chance that they could remain in the second-tier come the end of this season.

All of this means that whoever the new owners turn out to be, their first job with regard to rebuilding the first-team squad will be with one eye on a quick return to the Championship from League One next season.

Ryan Howsam and Simon Jordan connection confirmed as entrepreneur pulls out of the race

It had been suggested that the Dubai-based entrepreneur Ryan Howsam had been one of the parties interested in buying Sheffield Wednesday, but it's now been confirmed that he is out of this particular race.

Speaking the Sheffield Star, Howsam shone some light on what his bid for the club would have looked like. There had also been rumours suggesting that the former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan was preparing a consortium to bid for the club, and Howsam confirmed that he was the person with whom Jordan may have teamed up.

But Howsam confirmed that ultimately he couldn't make the numbers add up. "We were thinking of a lower bid than has been touted,” he told the Star, "When you put the money owed to Chansiri together with some of the secured creditors, there's the money that needs to be spent on the stadium."

Howsam also confirmed that he'd intended to use Jordan as a figurehead for a bid in a similar way to that in which the former American football Tom Brady has been utilised by Shelby Companies in their purchase of Birmingham City through his minority ownership in that club: "I've watched the Wrexham stuff but particularly with the Tom Brady thing at Birmingham, he's such an impressive character."

"That's what I try to bring to my businesses," he continued, "and with Simon would have brought it to Sheffield Wednesday." But ultimately for Howsam, it turned out to be too great a financial commitment for his interests: "But you've got to have the solid starting point and it has to make commercial sense. The numbers have got to be right."

Anders Holch Povlsen interest rumours scotched once and for all

There had been suggestions that Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of Danish club Midtjylland, had been showing an interest in buying into Sheffield Wednesday.

The billionaire, whose net worth has been listed by Forbes as being in excess of £13 billion, had become connected to the club through a report on The Athletic by Phillip Buckingham, though he was careful to add that, "it is unclear if that has led to a firm offer."

But another Athletic journalist, financial expert Matt Slater, has now confirmed that Povlsen will not be bidding for the club. Posting to the social media platform X, Slater confirmed that, "Midtjylland owner Anders Holch Povlsen has not made a bid for Sheffield Wednesday and is not intending to make one."

Although two potential connections to the takeover have now been ruled out, there remains considerable interest in buying Sheffield Wednesday. It remains to be seen which will be the one that makes the bid that offers the best return to creditors while allowing this famous old club to get back on their feet.