Sky pundit drops new Sheffield Wednesday takeover update - things could move 'quickly' with 'serious bidders' | OneFootball

Rob Dorsett has dropped an encouraging Sheffield Wednesday takeover update.

Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett has dropped an encouraging Sheffield Wednesday takeover update.

The Owls were, of course, placed into administration last Friday, triggering an automatic 12-point deduction from the EFL that left the South Yorkshire club on minus six points at the bottom of the Championship.

Along with that, Hillsborough stadium itself - which Chansiri did have control over - was also handed over to the administrators, meaning a potential buyer wouldn't have to negotiate a separate deal to purchase the stadium alongside the football club, making the takeover transaction considerably easier.

While obviously not ideal for on-the-pitch matters, this move brought an end to Dejphon Chansiri's controversial 10-year ownership: who was, among a whole lot of other things financially, responsible for six concurrent breaches of the EFL's regulations.

Though it now seems everyone connected with the club won't be waiting too long to find out who'll be responsible for taking them forward after the Thai businessman.

"Hope if not expectation" - Sheffield Wednesday could have new owners "quickly"

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Dorsett provided an optimistic assessment of the situation at Hillsborough, indicating that both the EFL and administrators, Begbies Traynor, are hopeful a deal can be completed in a relatively short timeframe.

"From the people I've been speaking too in the last 24 hours or so, it's been made pretty clear to me there is hope from both the EFL and the administrators, who are now running Sheffield Wednesday - hope if not expectation - that this could move quite quickly.

"And that Sheffield Wednesday could have new owners in place within a pretty quick timeframe compared with other administrations of the past," he said.

Given that Derby County, who were the last EFL club to go into administration, were 'one week away' from going bust before they were saved, these words are surely a relief to hear for Wednesdayites.

Dorsett also revealed that administrators have already been inundated with interest from prospective buyers, with a significant number appearing credible.

"We've been told that the administrators have been contacted by a lot of interested parties already, and that four or five of those are potentially serious bidders.

"So, the administrators will focus on those over the next few days and on getting the operations running smoothly so they can maximise the amount of money coming into the club."

Multiple serious bidders emerge for Sheffield Wednesday

Joint administrator Kris Wigfield, who himself has been a Sheffield Wednesday season ticket holder since 1984, has already confirmed the club has received substantial interest from potential new owners.

Speaking on BBC Five Live's Wake Up to Money programme, Wigfield revealed that among the numerous enquiries received, "four or five" appear to be genuine contenders who could meet the necessary criteria.

It’s worth a reminder that under EFL regulations, Wednesday must remain on the market for a minimum of 28 days.

But, Dorsett did hint at the EFL potentially being willing to allow Sheffield Wednesday to find a way around that rule: "I think one of the first points we need to make is that the EFL normally says to administrators, 'look, don't sell the club quickly, we have guidelines that say don't sell the club within the first 28 days," the Sky Sports reporter continued.

"That's to try and prevent companies lining up to buy a football club when it's in difficulty; getting it on the cheap if you like, and the EFL doesn't want to encourage that.

"But I've been told that the EFL is prepared to bend those rules a little bit. They're not hard and fast rules, and that actually, they and the administrators see the benefit in a quick change here."

However, like Dorsett, Wigfield expressed optimism that a preferred bidder could be identified by the end of November, with the purchase potentially concluded before the end of the calendar year.

It's also fair to say this optimism, along with the end of Chansiri's tenure, is prompting fans who had been boycotting matches to return to Hillsborough in large numbers, and spend money at the club.

For last Saturday's fixture against Oxford United, the Owls recorded their highest attendance of the season with 27,261 fans present at Hillsborough, despite just days earlier they had a reported attendance - but largely disputed figure - of 21,578 against Middlesbrough.

So, with Dorsett all but confirming that this administration process could be resolved more swiftly than previous cases, you’d expect a preferred bidder to be in-place by the end of the 28-day window.