Sheffield Wednesday warned ‘tough task’ is coming after ‘difficult’ takeover reveal | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday have been warned about the work ahead as they prepare for life in League One

Sheffield Wednesday are hoping for a swift resolution to David Storch’s bid to buy the club.

The American is leading a group, Arise, that has been named as the new preferred bidder for the Owls after the offer by James Bord’s consortium was rescinded.

The former poker player was named the original preferred bidder in December, just two months after the Yorkshire outfit went into administration, but the deal collapsed in February.

Begbies Traynor are now having to take into account how quickly a deal can be completed, with Sheffield Wednesday at risk of running out of money.

However, the Championship side are now also in danger of being handed a 15-point deduction penalty for next season by the EFL for failing to satisfy their rules regarding paying their creditors at 25p on the pound as part of the takeover process.

A decision has not yet been made on the penalty, with the ratification process ongoing, but it adds jeopardy to whether Storch will go through with his proposal to buy the club.

Sheffield Wednesday issued League One warning

Sheffield Wednesday could also be handed a spending cap on wages for next season as part of the EFL’s sanctions, which will limit the Owls to a bill of £7 million, with player salaries capped at £7,000 per week.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has warned Sheffield Wednesday will be in the bottom half of wage spending in League One next season if the £7 million cap is applied by the EFL under the new owners.

He compared their likely payroll to the likes of Bristol Rovers, Lincoln City and Cambridge United, suggesting they will be paying their squad far lower than Derby County were when they exited administration four years ago.

"It is probably not dissimilar to clubs such as Bristol Rovers or Lincoln or Cambridge United," said Maguire, via the BBC.

"When Derby County were promoted, they had a £17m budget.

"I'd imagine that the budgets for Birmingham City and Wrexham last season would be far in excess of that.

"It's going to make it a tough task.

"And with a highly likely 15-point penalty even more difficult.

"It means that Wednesday would be fishing in a pool which they probably don't want to be in.

"There are players in League Two who are being paid more than the Wednesday squad are on at present."

Sheffield Wednesday have already been officially relegated to League One for next season following a disastrous campaign both on and off the pitch.

Henrik Pedersen took charge of the first team squad in the summer, stepping up from his assistant coach role following Danny Rohl’s exit.

However, the Dane was left with a limited squad due to a number of player departures and an inability to replace them.

Sheffield Wednesday’s recovery from administration won’t be painless

Four years after coming out of administration, Derby are now in the mix for a play-off place in the Championship, and they too suffered relegation to League One.

Being able to replicate that timeline would be an extremely optimistic viewpoint for the Storch bid, and for supporters, who may have to be patient regarding these EFL sanctions.

Even if Sheffield Wednesday can have some of these sanctions eased, which may not come to fruition, then it will still take time to build a competitive squad and to invest in the club’s infrastructure.

The Owls could be feeling the damage of Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership for quite some time yet, even with a change in ownership hopefully just around the corner.