"Staggered" - Claim made as US billionaire closes in on Sheffield Wednesday takeover | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit has given his reaction to reports that US billionaire Tilman Fertitta is in advanced talks to buy the club.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

A new era could soon be set to get underway at Sheffield Wednesday amid reports that US billionaire Tilman Fertitta is in talks to buy the club.

It has been a nightmare summer for Wednesday, and the club are currently under three separate transfer embargoes and have been hit with a three-window transfer fee ban after failing to pay the wages of players and staff on time in May and June.

Owner Dejphon Chansiri has previously been reluctant to sell the Owls, but it appears that his stance has now changed, and according to The Star, a bid from an unnamed party has been accepted, and they are also willing to send a cash advance to help to ease the club's immediate financial issues.

With plenty of interest in the club, it is unclear exactly who has had an offer accepted by Chansiri, but journalist Alan Nixon claims that Wednesday are in "advanced talks" with US billionaire Fertitta about a potential takeover.

Fertitta was recently appointed as the US ambassador to Italy and San Marino, while he is also the owner of the NBA side Houston Rockets, as well as being the lead shareholder of hotel and casino company Wynn Resorts, and according to Forbes, he has a net worth of $11.3 billion.

While there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before Fertitta completes his takeover of Wednesday, it seems that Chansiri's turbulent 10-and-a-half-year tenure at Hillsborough could now be coming to an end.

Sheffield Wednesday reaction given to Tilman Fertitta takeover talk

When asked for his thoughts on a potential takeover by Fertitta, FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit, Patrick McKenna, admitted that he is cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the 68-year-old buying the club, and he believes his vast business experience could make him an ideal new owner.

"It has been an absolutely manic few days, even by the usual crazy standards of Sheffield Wednesday," Patrick told FLW.

"The latest now is that Tilman Fertitta is in advanced talks to take over from Dejphon Chansiri. Undeniably, I'm excited.

"It's hard not to be excited after the absolute misery of the Chansiri years to see billionaires having bids accepted and seemingly getting very close to taking over the club. It's just massive.

"I don't know a massive amount about Fertitta, but if you look at some of the facts that are available about him, he is a very rich guy. He has obviously been very successful in business across several industries, including sport, so he'll have a lot of contacts.

"If you compare him to Chansiri, who isn't and never has been a businessman, this guy is, and he is clearly invested in taking over the club. He isn't someone who seems like any sort of tire kicker, he's got deep enough pockets to take us over.

"I think the fact that he is willing to advance money really shows how serious he is. I'm kind of staggered that we're in this situation, and it is very, very exciting.

"Now it's a case of not getting too excited or carried away. Of course, things could still go wrong.

"But if this continues on and a deal is agreed, I think the future looks much brighter for Sheffield Wednesday, which would be incredible considering the absolute dire straits we have been hurtling to under Chansiri where you thought there might not even be a club at all."

Tilman Fertitta takeover would be perfect timing for Sheffield Wednesday

As Patrick says, it was not long ago that there were serious doubts over the long-term future of Wednesday and whether they would even be able to start the new season, but it now seems a takeover could be imminent.

Of course, having vast amounts of money does not guarantee that someone will be a good owner, but Fertitta is clearly an incredibly wealthy individual who has achieved plenty of success in the business world, so he could be the perfect candidate to buy the Owls.

Like Patrick, many Wednesday supporters will understandably be reluctant to celebrate at this stage, but the fact that Fertitta is willing to send a cash advance to help alleviate the current financial issues does suggest that he is serious about purchasing the club.