Premier League players will ‘definitely’ want Sheffield Wednesday transfer after takeover, says ex-star

Talk of a Sheffield Wednesday takeover is ramping up, and one former player believes it could lead to some big transfers.

Sheffield Wednesday’s fortunes have declined in recent years under the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri.

The Owls narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship in 2023/24, and though a mid-table finish was secured this past campaign, 2024/25 has not been without its problems.

Sheffield Wednesday could not pay wages earlier this year, while Danny Rohl could leave the club this summer.

There does appear to be some light at the end of the tunnel for the long-suffering Wednesday fans, however, with talk of a takeover increasing.

• READ MORE: Tottenham among Premier League sides that could look to land Sheffield Wednesday ace Pierce Charles

Sheffield Wednesday could sign Premier League players after takeover

A Sheffield Wednesday takeover by an NFL billionaire has been mooted recently.

The Walton-Penner family, who own NFL franchise the Denver Broncos, are believed to have made a bid of £100m for the Yorkshire outfit.

As the rumours continue to fly, meanwhile, ex-Owl Chris Waddle has been discussing the impact a buyout could have on transfers,

And Waddle is of the opinion that new ownership could lead to bigger signings, with players in the Premier League willing to drop down a division.

He told Football League World: “This is the problem, you know, I think if you get this guy to take over this football club, I think he’ll have players knocking on the door, I mean, good quality players, to say, ‘please sign me’.

“I think if it stays as it is with the regime, I think you’re going to find it hard to talk players into coming because they’re going to say, well, ‘you’ve very hit and miss, I don’t think there’s ambition to get the Premier League, I don’t think you’re good enough to get in the Premier League’. So that might scare a few players off.

“But it’s all on his takeover. If this takeover could come through quickly, I think you get the pick of that division, and probably some Premier League players that would drop out the Premier League to play for Sheffield Wednesday, definitely.”

Premier League players out of contract in 2025

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Sheffield Wednesday, with big decisions still needing to be made on the ownership and manager.

But if a takeover does arrive soon, there are a number of decent Premier League players who will be out of contract next month.

Tom Cairney is wanted by Wrexham after their recent promotion to the second tier as his contract with Fulham nears its end.

And there are plenty more experienced stars like Ben Davies, Danny Ings and Michael Keane who will be free agents soon.

Dejphon Chansiri poised to lose £56m-plus as Sheffield Wednesday takeover by NFL billionaire mooted

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri’s rhetoric in recent years suggests he didn’t know what he was in for when he bought the Championship club for £37.5m.

The motivations of millionaire or billionaire investors buying EFL clubs are often opaque. For some, it’s fulfilling a fantasy. For others, it’s hard-nosed capital appreciation.

If it’s the latter, you’re playing a dangerous game in the Championship, where the numbers simply don’t add up and clubs subsist on a diet of owner handouts and crumbs from the Michelin star meal that is Premier League solidarity payments.

Exactly what Dejphon Chansiri wanted with his takeover of Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 isn’t clear. What is crystal clear, however, is that he hasn’t achieved whatever it was he set out to do.

Early doors, the signs were relatively positive. The Thai businessman saw Wednesday beaten in the Championship play-off final in the first full season under his ownership.

The following season, the Owls finished 4th but defeat to Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals denied them a second trip to Wembley under Chansiri.

Then followed a few seasons of mid-table stasis before relegation in 2020-21, which was the result of a six-point deduction for breaching Financial Fair Play rules.

They were promoted at the second attempt from League One and have since stabilised in the Championship once more – or, at least, that is what the league table suggests.

In reality, however, Sheffield Wednesday are anything but stable. Chansiri and the fanbase are perpetually at each other’s throats, with the owner’s go-to line in fan forums usually some variation of: ‘Think you could do better? I’d like to see you try.’

Add to that the uncertainty over Danny Rohl’s future and it’s a pretty pernicious state of affairs at Hillsborough at present.

The light at the end of the tunnel? A potential takeover.

Are billionaire Walton family really interested in buying Dejphon Chansiri out?

Several groups have previously been linked with buying Sheffield Wednesday, most notably a consortium led by Adam Shaw, a Sheffield-born, America-based businessman.

Shaw says those talks never really got going because Chansiri refused to sign an NDA. Chansiri, incidentally, has countered that by saying that Shaw, whose Shawminds mental health charity previously had a partnership with Wednesday, still owes the club money.

Now, rumours are flying around suggesting that the Walton-Penner family, who own the NFL franchise the Denver Broncos, have bid £100m for the club.

If that is accurate – and it’s a very big ‘if’ at this stage – it would mean Sheffield Wednesday would have comfortably the EFL’s richest owners, as well as some of the very richest in football.