Sheffield Wednesday administrator confirms ‘four or five’ interested parties

Sheffield Wednesday’s joint administrator has confirmed there are “already four or five interested parties that look like the real deal” as the club heads toward new ownership.

The Owls, bottom of the Sky Bet Championship, went into administration on Friday and have been handed a 12-point deduction by the English Football League.

The appointment of administrators saw controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri relinquish control of the club, as more than 27,000 fans packed Hillsborough – a stark contrast to Wednesday’s midweek crowd against Middlesbrough – to watch the home side fall 2-1 to Oxford United at the weekend.

Kris Wigfield, joint administrator alongside insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, told BBC Five Live’s Wake Up to Money programme that new owners could be in place by the end of the year.

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Criteria

Wigfield said: “As always, you get a lot of interested parties that probably aren’t going to meet the criteria, but within the numerous inquiries we’ve had, we certainly think that there are already four or five interested parties that look like the real deal.

“There are two criteria that new owners basically need to satisfy to then open dialogue and there to be an opportunity where they can make an offer.

“The first thing is they need to show the administrators that they could make the football club viable.

“So they’ve got to show that they’ve got sufficient funds to be able to fund it for the next few years.

Hopeful

“And secondly, we have to be satisfied that they will pass the EFL fit and proper persons test, and if they can satisfy both of those, then we’ll start talking to them seriously.”

Wigfield said that under EFL rules the club have to stay on market for 28 days, adding: “I’m hopeful that by the end of November, if things go well, we might know who’s going to buy the football club.”

Wednesday’s financial problems under former owner Chansiri reached crisis point in the summer, prompting the EFL to impose various embargoes as the club struggled with tax debts and delays in paying players and staff.

READ MORE: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Oxford United: Henrik Pedersen thanks fans despite defeat