Sheffield Wednesday takeover news: David Storch boost, positive wage twist, new Chansiri updates | OneFootball

All the latest ownership updates from S6

Sheffield Wednesday's turbulent season is drawing to a close, but much off-field drama for the club may still lie ahead.

The Owls have endured one of the most harrowing campaigns in their history - winning just one of 39 Championship matches, suffering 29 league defeats, and watching their relegation confirmed with a particularly painful 2-1 Steel City Derby defeat to Sheffield United in February.

Star players have already departed, while a 18-point deduction this term effectively accelerated the club's drop to League One.

Yet with US-based consortium Arise pressing ahead with their takeover bid under preferred bidder David Storch - who has appointed sports lawyer Nick De Marco to navigate EFL negotiations - there is now cautious optimism that Wednesday can begin to rebuild.

A series of encouraging updates have emerged in recent days - and here is everything you need to know.

Henry Winter issues warning to EFL over points deduction threat

Football journalist Henry Winter has delivered a stark warning to the EFL, urging the governing body to exercise caution before imposing further punishment on one of English football's most historic clubs.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield on the situation, Winter described the prospect of a 15-point deduction - triggered by David Storch's bid falling below the 25p in the pound creditor threshold required under EFL rules - as "absolutely ridiculous."

Winter emphasised the cultural and historical weight the club carries, noting Wednesday's status as one of the Premier League's founding members and one of the oldest clubs in the world.

He credited the dedication of the fanbase as the primary reason the club has not already been pushed to the brink of extinction, and questioned why supporters should be made to bear the consequences of institutional failure.

"I don't see why the supporters, the club, should actually take another points deduction," he said, warning that forcing Wednesday out of existence would constitute a significant humiliation for the EFL itself.

Wednesday’s wage restrictions set to be eased following positive EFL talks

In a significant development for the club's footballing operations, The Sheffield Star has reported that wage restrictions previously proposed against Wednesday are now expected to be relaxed.

Following productive discussions between Storch’s Arise consortium and the EFL, it is understood that spending limitations will be brought more in line with the standard regulations already in place across League One, rather than the far more punitive caps that had initially been tabled.

Earlier fears had centred on a weekly wage budget ceiling as low as £7,000 for new signings, alongside a total outlay cap of £7 million - figures that would have severely hampered any realistic attempt at squad building.

There is now optimism that those figures will be considerably softened. Furthermore, a ban on signing players for transfer fees - which had been set to run until the end of the January 2027 window - is also expected to be eased.

The Star further reports that the proposed penalties were understood to represent a starting point in negotiations from the EFL's perspective, consistent with the approach taken with other clubs in comparable financial positions.

Crucially, however, the 15-point deduction pencilled in for Wednesday next season is understood to remain firmly in place, with the EFL maintaining that it is a mandatory consequence of the rules rather than a discretionary sanction.

David Storch expected to pass EFL’s Owners' and Directors' Test

Further grounds for cautious optimism emerged via The Star's Joe Crann and Alex Miller, who confirmed on the All Wednesday podcast that the EFL's Owners' and Directors' Test is expected to be passed by Arise.

Crann described talks with the governing body as "positive," adding that for an Owls fanbase that has struggled to find reasons for encouragement in recent months, these incremental updates represent meaningful progress.

Miller was keen to draw a distinction between the current process and the previous preferred bidder James Bord’s ill-fated approach, noting that the negotiations this time around have proceeded without the red flags and stumbling blocks that characterised earlier attempts.

"The opposite is true here," he said, acknowledging that further hurdles remain but that the overall trajectory is considerably more promising.

Dejphon Chansiri's UK business interests continue to unravel

Away from the takeover negotiations, former Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri's diminishing footprint in British business has taken another step towards conclusion.

A micro company registered in his name, Chansiri Limited - incorporated in April 2015, shortly after his purchase of Wednesday - has been served with a First Gazette notice by Companies House following a failure to file accounts, the most recent of which dates to August 2024.

Sheffield Hallam University sport finance lecturer Dr Dan Plumley told The Star that the development is consistent with Chansiri's broader withdrawal from UK business life.

Plumley suggested the lapsed filings point to a deliberate intention to wind the company down, and predicted there would be no formal objection.