Sheffield Wednesday may have to bite Mike Ashley bullet as fresh takeover update emerges | OneFootball

News that the price for the club may drop below the amount required to avoid further sanctions could alter the dynamic of this protracted takeover.

Reports that bids for Sheffield Wednesday may not reach the threshold required to avoid a points deduction from the EFL might require Owls fans to bite a Mike Ashley-shaped bullet.

For all the talk of how much interest there was in buying Sheffield Wednesday, the takeover of the club has over the last few weeks become somewhat messy.

It has become increasingly clear that there is no-one at present who's prepared to make the £30-£35 million bid that would be required to avoid a hefty 15-point deduction at the start of next season, and this plays into the hands of one individual who's already had a bid of £20 million for the club reportedly turned down by the administrators.

If Sheffield Wednesday's sale price is reduced, Mike Ashley may become a bullet worth biting

There have always been concerns about what might happen, should Mike Ashley be successful in taking over Sheffield Wednesday. Ashley was subject to numerous protests at Newcastle United over his ownership of the club, while the way in which he does business has also left him open to criticism.

The big issue with Ashley's interest in the club was the size of his bid for the club. EFL rules state that any club that exits administration without a creditor's agreement offering them a minimum of 25p in the pound will start the following season with a 15-point deduction. This wouldn't give Wednesday the completely clean break for which fans have been praying ahead of their inevitable relegation to League One.

But if there is no interest at the £30-35 million level that would be required to avoid such a sanction, then Ashley becomes a considerably more viable option for the club.

There may have been unhappiness on Tyneside at the way in which he ran Newcastle - who were relegated from the Premier League twice during his ownership - but he did at least manage to stabilise the club's finances and sell them on to new owners who could fund further growth.

A 15-point deduction would hurt Sheffield Wednesday, but they may not have any choice in the matter

The costs of starting next season in League One - as already seems practically certain - on -15 points don't end with being at a huge handicap compared to the rest of the division in terms of their position in the league table.

Football is very much a confidence game. Both players and paying fans will be attracted to a club that seems likely to be successful, and starting the new season already 15 points adrift at the foot of the table hardly does that.

Given that Sheffield Wednesday will need a complete overhaul of their first-team squad when the takeover is completed - and it now seems that this won't be happening in January - getting the players they will want for next season will only prove more difficult with that points deduction. The same goes for season-ticket holders, too. That failure to provide a completely fresh start could deter some from signing up.

But the reality of Sheffield Wednesday's position is the reality of Sheffield Wednesday's position. The truth of how much a football club is worth is ultimately that it's what someone is prepared to pay for it, and what someone is prepared to sell it for. If there are no bids in the £30-35 million bracket required to avoid a points deduction, then lower bids will have to be considered because at this stage in proceedings the only alternative is liquidation.

And in this case, Ashley can at least provide a demonstrable record of having run a club within its financial means and years of experience in the shark-infested waters of club ownership. He may not be the option that all Sheffield Wednesday supporters want, but as it becomes increasingly evident that there is no white knight stepping in to give the club that completely fresh start that they so desperately wanted, he might become a viable option for them again.