Sheffield Wednesday news: Blades make James Bord decision, Bailey Cadamarteri exit talk | OneFootball

The takeover of ailing Championship side Sheffield Wednesday remains ongoing, so here's the latest on developments at Hillsborough.

The takeover of ailing Championship club Sheffield Wednesday remains ongoing.

For now, there remains no completion date for the takeover of Sheffield Wednesday.

The club were put into administration on the 24th October, and a preferred bidder was confirmed on Christmas Eve, but three weeks on from this confirmation the sale of the club to a consortium fronted by the former professional gambler and Sheffield United advisor James Bord remains uncompleted.

There are good reasons for this sale being so protracted.

There are many regulatory hurdles that have to be crossed, and Bord's previous involvement in gambling has added an extra layer of complexity to the EFL's approval process. Meanwhile, the team continues to languish on the pitch, still on -7 points and now 32 from safety at the foot of the Championship table.

But the process will come to an end, although whether this can be completed before the end of the January window is now starting to look extremely doubtful. With all of that in mind, then, here's a round-up of the latest on the takeover from Hillsborough.

Sheffield United sever consultancy contract with Short Circuit Science

CityAM have reported that Sheffield United have terminated their consultancy contract with Short Circuit Science as a result of James Bord, who owns the company, being confirmed as the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday.

They report that, "Short Circuit’s work for Sheffield United was controversial and played a role in the departure of Chris Wilder at the end of last season due to his reservations about the use of AI in their transfer model, although he has since returned to Bramall Lane in place of Selles."

Bord is part of a three-man consortium who are currently undergoing EFL checks over their suitability to own the financially-stricken Championship club.

Bord was hired by the owners of Sheffield United to act as a consultant over their transfer policy, using a data and AI-driven model to guide transfers into the club. With the loans of Ben Godfrey and Louie Barry having already been terminated, it is generally considered that this approach was a failure at Bramall Lane.

Wednesday loan priorities may change with escalating injury crisis

The Sheffield Wednesday squad has been threadbare since last summer, and recent injuries have ravaged it further still. Sheffield Wednesday fans were, therefore, relieved to learn that the EFL sanctioned two loan signings for them to make before the end of the January transfer window.

In the last week, Wednesday have lost goalkeeper Pierce Charles to injury again after he damaged his shoulder during their FA Cup home defeat to Brentford, and Dominic Iorfa, who missed the Brentford match with a groin issue. Both are expected to be out for weeks. Earlier in the month, it was confirmed that a hamstring injury would be keeping forward George Brown out for a sustained period. After the Brentford match, head coach Henrik Pedersen admitted that Wednesday 'needed help' as the club's injury problems threaten to spiral out of control again.

All of this came on top of the news that Harry Amass, who impressed at Hillsborough throughout the first half of the season, would be returning to Old Trafford at the end of his loan spell, and that back-up goalkeeper Ethan Horvath would be returning to Cardiff City.

The Sheffield Star reported on the 3rd January that Wednesday had been approved to make two loan signings in the January transfer window, but that these came with conditions, and the subsequent injury to Pierce Charles has upset a delicate equilibrium.

Wednesday had been given permission to sign two players, with the Star reporting that, "Sources have indicated that that slot will not necessarily have to be filled by a goalkeeper, meaning Wednesday will be able to sign a further outfield player if they are comfortable leaving their current stable of rookie stoppers as back-up to Pierce Charles."

The injury to Charles - who has already missed almost four months of football this season after another shoulder injury - has only added a further layer of complication to what was already a very delicate situation at Hillsborough. Wednesday have been linked with an interest in the Aston Villa forward Zépiqueno Redmond and the Manchester City youngster Jayden Heskey.

If there's one thing that Sheffield Wednesday cannot afford at the moment, it's to lose any more of their existing players, but this hasn't prevented some of their more promising youngsters from being linked to other clubs.

On Monday, Football League World exclusively revealed that Millwall have joined Blackburn Rovers and Hibernian in the chase for forward Bailey Cadamarteri. The 20-year-old had previously been the subject of offers from both of the other clubs, with journalist Alan Nixon reporting that the player was open to leaving Hillsborough.

With injuries mounting and the club only permitted to bring in two players before the end of the January transfer window, the loss of Cadamarteri would be a serious blow to Wednesday. All of this only adds to the feeling that the takeover of the club really does need to be concluded sooner rather than later.