"We have a desire" - David Storch confirms Sheffield Wednesday takeover bid and reveals exciting Owls plans | OneFootball

David Storch has confirmed that he has made a bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday, and he has opened up about his plans for the Championship club.

American businessman David Storch has confirmed that he has made a bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday, and he has outlined some of his plans for the club if he is able to complete a takeover.

Wednesday have been on the market since former owner Dejphon Chansiri put the club and the company through which he owned the stadium into administration in October, which brought his turbulent decade-long tenure at Hillsborough to an end.

The Owls' administrators were originally hoping to name a preferred bidder by 5th December, but that process has been delayed in recent weeks, and there are now believed to be three parties remaining in the running — Storch, former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and James Bord, who acted as a transfer consultant to Sheffield United until recently.

Reports on Friday suggested that Ashley was set to be announced as the preferred bidder for Wednesday, and as his bid is below £30 million, it was claimed that the club would be hit with a 15-point deduction in League One next season, but while he is still in the running, it does not seem the 61-year-old is in pole position just yet.

Storch was initially believed to have joined forces with John McEvoy in his bid to buy the Owls, but he has now revealed that he has teamed up with Tom Costin, an investor with the Blue Crow Sports Group, who are a multi-club football ownership and investment platform with stakes in French side Le Havre, Spanish club CD Leganes and Mexican outfit Cancun FC in Mexico.

It is not the first time that Storch, who is the founder and managing partner of investment firm Arise Capital Partners, has set his sights on owning an English club, with Reading, Blackpool and Cardiff City among his previous targets, but after submitting an offer for Wednesday on Friday, he will be hoping that he can get a deal over the line this time.

David Storch opens up on Sheffield Wednesday plans after making Owls takeover bid

In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, Storch gave an insight into some of his plans for Wednesday if he takes over the club, and he confirmed that he would look to improve the club's stadium and training ground, as well as introducing a proper structure at board level.

"We have a desire to do things right, that means setting the tone at the top," Storch said.

"Having excellence in everything we do and a quality product — at the stadium, the training ground and academy.

"We'll bring in the right CEO (chief executive officer). We want to make sure we bring in the right sporting director."

After the financial problems the Owls experienced in the final months of the Chansiri era, Storch insisted that no such issues would be repeated under his ownership, stating: "You'll see that we have a blueprint for proper governance, fan engagement, financial stability, sustainability and football strategy.

"I've bought into it 100% and I've insisted that all of my partners here, all of my team that's surrounding me, that they buy into that as well.

"I think the academy is critical to our strategy. We'll look to make improvements there so that players can have the right environment in which to train."

"We recognise that this is a long journey - this is not a short term fix," Storch continued.

"We have confidence between Tom and I, that between us, we have enough capital to get this thing going, and our plan is that as we sustain the team, and as we start making progress on the pitch, get back up in the Championship, it will be possible for us to go ahead and raise additional capital.

"I'm not doing this to own a football club. I'm doing this to make a difference. I want to give people something to feel proud about."

There have been increasing fears that Wednesday could be hit with a 15-point deduction in League One next season if the club's new owner does not meet the EFL's 25p in the pound rule, which states that unsecured creditors must be paid a minimum of 25p for every pound owed after the club exits administration, but Storch revealed that he will not accept that penalty.

"We've put in an offer. We feel that it's a fair offer and satisfies our interpretation of the rules and the laws of the land," Storch explained.

"We will not move forward with a 15-point deduction. The offer that we've put in has a requirement that stipulates that we will not accept the 15-point reduction."

During Storch's time as CEO of aviation company AAR, an employee reportedly bribed the Nepalese and South African governments, resulting in the company agreeing a $55m settlement in 2024, but he does not believe this will be a stumbling block in his bid to buy the Owls, and he claimed that he has "a 40-year business career that is unblemished".

Given Bord's links to Sheffield United's disastrous summer recruitment and reports that Ashley would be prepared to accept a 15-point deduction next season, Wednesday supporters have been increasingly concerned about the club's takeover situation in recent days.

However, with Storch outlining his exciting ambitions for the club, they will be feeling a fresh sense of optimism, and while he would need to back up his bold comments with actions if he does complete a takeover, it certainly seems as though he is a credible candidate.

It is no secret that the Owls' stadium and training ground are in desperate need of renovations, and it has been a long time since they have had a proper structure at board level, so with Storch promising to deliver all of those improvements, as well as speaking of his desire for financial stability, many supporters will be surely be hoping that he is granted preferred bidder status.