Sheffield Wednesday dealt frustrating transfer update - Henrik Pedersen must be annoyed | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday have been limited in their transfer business due to former owner Dejphon Chansiri

Sheffield Wednesday still aren’t able to add new players to their team at his moment in time.

The Owls have been severely restricted in what business they can commence due to embargoes placed upon them due to former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s financial wrongdoings.

In a summer that saw key operators such as Michael Smith, Josh Windass and Djeidi Gassama all exit Hillsborough, Wednesday only managed to complete loan deals for Harry Amass and Ethan Horvath.

This lack of activity in the transfer market, coupled with an automatic 12-point penalty for entering administration, has all but confined the Steel City side to relegation, but hope was recently ignited that they may be able to make some new additions in January.

Captain Barry Bannan revealed that the Owls may be able to make free transfers and loans in the January transfer window, with former Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper reportedly lined up to sign as soon as permission was granted.

This would’ve been a huge boost for Wednesday but it now looks like they may have to wait a while longer before securing some fresh signatures.

Sheffield Wednesday made to wait longer to sign free agents

Due to Chansiri's financial mismanagement, Wednesday are banned from paying transfer fees until the summer of 2027, which means that they are restricted to completing loan deals or snapping up free agents.

Given that the Owls have had to rely on academy players to make up the numbers in their squad, some extra recruits would help relieve the workload from some of the experienced players in the dressing room, like Bannan, who have been overworked thus far.

However, it doesn’t look like a realistic possibility at this moment in time.

According to Sheffield Star journalist Joe Crann, the Steel City side weren’t able to get a definitive answer on signing free agents after having a recent meeting with the EFL.

Crann states that the wait goes on to see when Wednesday are allowed to recruit free agents once more, something that won’t please Henrik Pedersen one iota.

Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer woes could be relieved by a takeover

If they didn’t need extra motivation, finding a new owner for the club would help get Wednesday back into a position where they can sign free agents.

Names such as Mike Ashley and John Textor have been strongly linked with taking over the Owls, with an estimated price of £50m recently reported by journalist Alan Nixon enough to secure both the club and Hillsborough.

Having a new owner in charge with sufficient resources would relieve any concerns the EFL may have and would allow Wednesday to get back in a position to sign free agents.

Although they won’t be able to pay transfer fees, securing any further experience at the Championship level would go down well with the rest of the squad and could potentially set Pedersen’s side up well for a League One title charge next term.