Sheffield Wednesday takeover: David Storch takes aim at Dejphon Chansiri & EFL amid fresh twist | OneFootball

The Owls are expected to start next season in League One with another points deduction

Sheffield Wednesday supporters have endured a miserable time in the past year or so, with the club constantly stuck in limbo over a potential takeover.

Dejphon Chansiri's prior mismanagement of the Steel City club had been well-documented, before last October, the Thailand-based businessman placed the Owls into administration amid fears of a winding-up petition.

Such developments followed on from a prior mass exodus of senior players and management staff from the Championship side, and it is largely down to this factor and an overall 18-point deduction as to why Henrik Pedersen's team suffered the earliest ever relegation in EFL history back in February.

Since Chansiri's exit as owner from Hillsborough in the autumn, Wednesdayites had seen James Bord be named as the initial preferred bidder by joint-administrators, Begbies Traynor, before his £47.8m bid collapsed days after relegation to League One was mathematically confirmed.

This allowed American, David Storch, to swoop back in with his own bid alongside his son, Michael, and Tom Costin, on behalf of Arise Capital Partners LLC.

Storch has been extremely vocal ever since he was granted preferred bidder status last month, highlighting some of the plans he has in place to ensure Wednesday's future gives a stark contrast in feelings in comparison to their current misfortunes.

It is hoped that he will complete a takeover by May 1st, the day before the final match of the season against West Bromwich Albion, with supporters urged to pack out Hillsborough as a result.

Yet, whilst that is still the aim, Storch has issued a passionate message which, unfortunately for Owls fans, does bring some bad news.

David Storch issues passionate statement on EFL decision to hand Sheffield Wednesday points deduction in League One

It has been a hot topic of discussion in recent weeks and months that the South Yorkshire club are to start their first League One campaign in three years with another points deduction - this time 15 points.

This is as a result of Storch's bid coming in at approximately £18m, which falls short of the valuation required to repay creditors 25p in the pound when administration is exited.

One of those creditors is, indeed, controversial former owner, Chansiri, with Storch taking aim at his potential predecessor for what he essentially believes is neglect.

The American described the current situation as a "critical moment for the football club," before explaining that he and his business partners "fundamentally disagree" with the EFL's decision to uphold the 15-point sanction ahead of 2026/27, and that they requested that the deal be reviewed by an independent arbitration.

After further explaining that "what makes this situation incredibly difficult is extremely unique," Storch claims that Chansiri has been unwilling to restructure the fair portion of the club's debt which sits with him, and that Arise's requests to the Thai have gone "unanswered."

He then added that Chansiri "must've known" about "serious infrastructure challenges" such as inadequate water supplies and insufficient electrical capacity to carry out essential upgrades behind-the-scenes.

Storch continued by reiterating "it remains our absolute intention to complete this transaction by 1st May," before listing off several reasons why 'saving' the Owls is so vital.

He also remains hopeful that the EFL will come back with a "reasonable approach" to Arise's subsequent request after learning of the pending sanctions, whilst urging Wednesdayites and the wider footballing community to spread the word using the hashtag, #FairDealForWednesday.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters will share the same opinion as David Storch amid EFL stance

Unsurprisingly, there are many Wednesdayites who share the same opinion as their prospective new chairman, as they believe his consortium's looming takeover shouldn't begin with the backdrop of further misery as a result of prior developments.

It has been well-publicised the challenges Storch and his consortium will face both on and off the pitch should the takeover go through as planned, and having a 15-point penalty will only add to those, as the Owls would require at least five victories out of 46 to achieve a positive points total - something which they haven't been able to do in 42 of their 46 Championship games.

In the long-term, Storch clearly has good intentions for the club, and it is no surprise that, from his point of view, a fairer solution to these issues could possibly be negotiated.