What happened with Mike Ashley and Derby County as Sheffield Wednesday takeover saga continues | OneFootball

Mike Ashley could have purchased the Rams in 2022 during what were uncertain times at Pride Park.

Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday are, unarguably, the biggest EFL sides to have fallen on extremely bleak financial times within the past five years.

At present, the East Midlands and Steel City clubs are Championship equals, on paper, for a second successive season following the Rams' promotion from League One, which came just 11 months after Wednesday's dramatic play-off success over local rivals, Barnsley, at Wembley Stadium in the summer of 2023.

However, it's fair to say that, right now, the predicament of the two sides could not be more contrasting if you tried.

John Eustace and his newly-moulded Derby side are now starting to look upwards after making steady strides of progress in recent times, whilst the immediate future for Henrik Pedersen's Wednesday team remains in doubt as a result of Dejphon Chansiri's controversial day-to-day running of proceedings at Hillsborough.

Owls players, staff and supporters remain in the dark as to what the future holds, with Chansiri remaining unseen and unspoken when it comes to the serious matter for several months, as stated by figures such as club captain, Barry Bannan and his compatriot and talkSPORT presenter, Jim White.

Wednesday have been hit with several EFL-imposed embargoes relating to transfers and the registration of players after failing to pay players and staff on time in five of the past seven months, with a second points deduction of Chansiri's 10-year reign expected.

Those aforementioned worries only deepened this week when it was revealed off the back of an independent investigation by local media outlets that HMRC are threatening to serve a winding-up petition and, with that, administration is likely to follow as a £1m tax bill remains unpaid.

Just three years ago, Derby found themselves in a similar predicament under controversial former owner, Mel Morris, with Mike Ashley, once of Newcastle United, interested in taking control at the time.

With the sportswear tycoon now in the running for a potential Hillsborough takeover, Football League World has reflected on the events of 2022 involving the 61-year-old.

Mike Ashley's unsuccessful attempt at buying Derby County in the summer of 2022

Ashley's most notable spell as a businessman came at St James' Park between July 2007 and October 2021, overseeing an extremely tumultuous period with Newcastle United which included two relegations, as many Championship title wins, a UEFA Europa League campaign and the then-club record £40m signing of Joelinton in 2019.

Derby had previously seen themselves as Premier League regulars, looking to eventually compete with sides such as the Magpies over time, before suffering relegation in 2007/08 with a record-low points total of 11.

The Rams then failed to return to the top flight via the play-offs in 2014, 2016 and 2019, with the latter two of those campaigns coming under Morris' ownership.

Just two years after suffering defeat to Aston Villa, and weeks after securing survival at Wednesday's expense through a dramatic 3-3 draw in DE24, Derby were placed into administration with Morris admitting losses in excess of £200m throughout his time in the boardroom.

Wayne Rooney's side would be relegated under the backdrop of financial uncertainty and a 21-point deduction over the course of the season, before Ashley looked to salvage the club in the summer of 2022.

Ashley had previously seen an exclusivity period granted to rival bidder, Chris Kirchner. That expired in May 2022, when he renewed his interest with the club's administrators, Quantuma.

Having previously prepared a £50m bid and a takeover of Pride Park, Ashley even deposited the sum in June 2022 in a bid to save the club from the brink, before it was eventually placed in the hands of current chairman and lifelong supporter, David Clowes, who paid an initial £33m whilst parting with a further £22m to buy the stadium and take the club out of administration altogether.

Sheffield Wednesday fans will hope takeover saga ends soon amid Mike Ashley links

Sheffield-based reporter Alan Biggs recently reiterated Ashley's interest in taking over at Hillsborough amid the now revealed tax bill saga, which has only added to concerns in this part of the world.

It also remains to be seen how much cash Ashley would have to part with to end Chansiri's ownership, with it being claimed initially that the Thailand native was holding out for £100m but could drop to £70m after talks with ex-Crystal Palace stakeholder, John Textor, hit a lull.

Ashley hasn't been far away from controversy himself given how his 14-year spell at St James' transpired, albeit he would be walking into a whole different challenge in S6, as Wednesdayites hope their club will eventually fall into safe hands, and they can set about ending a Premier League exile that has lasted a quarter of a century.