The Sheffield Wednesday takeover saga continues to rumble on, with no clear date in sight for a potential end to it.
Now confirmed as a League One club for the 2026-27 season, with their squad depth, lack of funds and 18 points-worth of deductions across the current campaign all contributing to it, the Owls will soon be looking ahead to the future, but whether they get new owners anytime soon is still a mystery.
On Christmas Eve, it was revealed that a preferred bidder had been selected just two months into the administration process by Begbies Traynor, with Stanmore-born entrepreneur and poker player James Bord soon revealed as the figurehead behind the move to try and save the South Yorkshire outfit.
Two whole months have passed though, and the process is still ongoing. Bord and his financial partners – Felix Roemer and Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil – haven’t been approved by the EFL as of yet, and there appears to be no rush to push through a takeover deal until the authorities are satisfied the trio are fit and proper.
Mike Ashley update emerges over Sheffield Wednesday takeover stance
There is no actual guarantee that Bord will become Wednesday’s new owner, although he put the best bid on the table with a non-refundable deposit, and one name continues to lurk with interest in case his attempts to purchase the Owls falters.
That man is Mike Ashley, who has been out of football since 2021, when he sold Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Reports suggested prior to Bord becoming the preferred bidder that Ashley’s offer, if pushed through, would’ve seen Wednesday likely deducted 15 points next season due to it not meeting the club’s £30 million debt obligations – only for Bord’s offer to exceed it.
In a fresh update though, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook has revealed that Walsall-born businessman Ashley is ‘waiting in the wings’ to make a renewed offer for the club, should Bord’s attempts end up falling flat.
Ashley’s most recent football venture came when purchasing the CBS Arena complex in November 2022, with Coventry City’s future at the stadium placed into doubt for a short period of time.
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A new rent deal was agreed however, and then in August 2025 the Sky Blues bought the complex from Ashley outfit, where he made a £33.8 million profit, but his bid for Sheffield Wednesday after that ultimately wasn’t enough to make him the preferred bidder.
If James Bord takeover doesn’t materialise, Mike Ashley would not be the worst option for Sheffield Wednesday
There’s still plenty of unknowns regarding the Bord takeover bid – there seems to be confidence that it will get done eventually, but given the fact the EFL still haven’t approved him, and a former business partner is suing him, there has to be an element of doubt over it.
It’s clear that Bord has put his money down in the form of a non-refundable deposit and is helping to fund the Owls going forward whilst still not having control, but the clubs he’s been involved at, like Dunfermline Athletic and Cordoba, are somewhat small-fry compared to what Ashley has been involved in at Newcastle.
There’s not much love lost for Ashley on Tyneside, despite being a childhood Newcastle supporter, but there’s not much to argue about his business credentials, especially away from football – should there be no other creditable options, then the 61-year-old would be a sensible choice, even if the club potentially have to take a 15-point hit next season.