Derby County, Reading evidence could offer big Mike Ashley, Sheffield Wednesday hint | OneFootball

Mike Ashley's previous interest in Derby County and Reading suggests he could launch a takeover bid for Sheffield Wednesday.

After going to administration on Friday, the search for new owners for Sheffield Wednesday is continuing, with a number of parties believed to be showing interest in the club.

Following months of financial turmoil, former Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri put the club and the company through which he owned the stadium into administration, which brought his turbulent decade-long tenure at Hillsborough to an end.

The Owls have been hit with a 12-point deduction after entering administration, which leaves them sitting bottom of the Championship table on minus six points, a huge 16 points from safety, but Chansiri's exit has reignited hope that a brighter future could be ahead for the club.

Despite Wednesday only being in administration for a matter of days, it seems there are plenty of suitors for the club, with joint-administrator Kris Wigfield revealing on Monday that "there are already four or five interested parties that look like the real deal", and he claimed that a takeover could be completed before the end of the year.

Former Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has reportedly made contact with the club's administrators, and US billionaire John McAvoy is believed to be considering a move for the club, while the name of ex-Newcastle United chief Mike Ashley has also been mentioned.

Fresh update on potential Mike Ashley, Sheffield Wednesday takeover emerges

Ashley is certainly no stranger to football ownership having been in charge of Newcastle between 2007 and 2021, while he also held an 8.92% stake in Scottish giants Rangers between 2014 and 2017.

The 61-year-old, who is the founder and former chief executive of Sports Direct and the Frasers Group, was a controversial figure at St James' Park, with Magpies supporters frequently protesting against him due to what they believed was his lack of ambition, and those demonstrations continued right until his exit in October 2021 when he sold the club to a Saudi-led consortium for a fee of £305 million.

However, while Ashley did not have a particularly positive reputation in the North East, Newcastle did spend 12 of their 14 seasons under his ownership in the Premier League, as well as qualifying for the Europa League in 2012, and on the two occasions they dropped out of the top flight, they won the Championship title to secure an immediate return the following year.

Ashley has been out of football ownership now for over four years, but it seems he is tempted by the prospect of a return to the game, and it was first claimed earlier this month that he was monitoring developments at Wednesday.

With the Owls now in administration, it appears Ashley's interest is growing, with the Daily Mail claiming this week that he is "weighing up next steps", and given his previous links with clubs in distress, it would be no surprise to see him launch a formal takeover bid in the coming weeks.

Derby County, Reading situations could provide big Mike Ashley, Sheffield Wednesday clue

Ashley may not have owned a club since selling Newcastle, but he has certainly flirted with the idea of coming back into football, and Derby County and Reading have both been in his sights over the past few years.

After Derby went into administration in the 2021-22 season, Ashley was one of those interested in taking over the club before it was sold to current owner David Clowes, and he reportedly even deposited £50 million as he looked to save the Rams from liquidation in the summer of 2022, showing just how serious he was about purchasing the East Midlands outfit.

While Reading were spared from going into administration, their existence also came under threat during the tenure of former owner Dai Yongge, and Ashley was said to be mulling a move for the Royals towards the end of 2023, but he ultimately decided against pursuing a deal for the club.

Derby and Reading are the only other clubs that Ashley has shown interest in since leaving Newcastle, and as he is now believed to be eyeing Wednesday, it seems his preference is to acquire clubs in desperate situations when he could possibly strike a deal for a significantly lower price.

With that in mind, it is no surprise that Ashley was unwilling to engage in what would likely have been complex negotiations with Chansiri, and there is almost no chance that he would have been prepared to pay anywhere near the former Owls owner's reported £100 million valuation.

Ashley is believed to have an eye-watering net worth of $5.6 billion (£4.2 million), and given his strong business acumen and reputation for financial prudence, he could be the perfect candidate to stabilise Wednesday's precarious current situation and get the club back on a more sustainable footing.