Derby County’s Championship rivals are facing a triple panic of unpaid wages, transfer embargo threat and manager speculation

Panic is growing at Sheffield Wednesday that the club is on the brink of a three-window transfer ban amid reports that wages have not been paid on time again.

Wednesday have had problems with wages and tax payments over the last year and the BBC and Sheffield Star claim that at least some players and staff did not receive their monthly pay as expected on Friday. The club had the same issue in March, when wages were eventually paid on April 7 – just before a deadline that would have resulted in a registration embargo.

On that occasion, Wednesday blamed “a temporary issue” with cashflow because of debts owed to owner Dejphon Chansiri, who has been in charge for 10 years and whose family runs a canned tuna business.

The Star writes: “Everybody has to be paid in full in order for the ban to be avoided.

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“Technically it is still payday for those owed money, and should they be paid tomorrow then it would still be classed as before the end of the month. It’s understood that club have two days after the original default to either pay up or report it to the league, after that the ‘30 day rule’ will apply.”

The EFL’s 30-day rule means a punishment for any club which default on payments for a period of 30 days or more during a 12-month period from July 1 to June 30. This can be one 30-day default or a series of individual defaults which cumulatively reach 30 days – and this includes late payments to HM Revenue and Customs.

The Star report: “Wednesday will have been fined the greater amount of either ‘£6,000 or five per cent of the outstanding sum due’ when they hit 20 days, whenever that may have been – the next punishment is a ban for ‘three full transfer windows’ commencing on the date on which the ‘persistent default’ occurred.”

It adds: “Impacted individuals have been told that the club anticipates it will be able to pay them in full ‘during the course of this Monday’. With lower-paid staff not paid in full, the latest developments paint a concerning financial picture at Wednesday. Emergency funds have been made available to anyone who employees who are in immediate need, correspondence (seen by The Star) claims.”

All this comes amid continued speculation about the future of popular manager Danny Rohl, who has talked candidly about his career and has been linked with jobs in Germany.

BBC Sheffield reporter Rob Staton said: “Sheffield Wednesday fans ended the season protesting against chairman Dejphon Chansiri in a way we haven’t seen from this fanbase in the past.

“There was concern the last time wages were not paid on time – in March – that if it happened again within a certain timeframe, the club faced a potential transfer embargo. I suspect that can still be avoided, depending on the length of the delay. However, it is clearly a big concern that on the final Friday of the month, wages have again not been paid on time.

“There’s so much uncertainty around Hillsborough. What is happening with manager Danny Rohl? What kind of plans are being made for next season? More importantly, though, how financially stable is this club? What is the future? There simply aren’t any answers coming from the chairman.

“Looking at what is being said online and speaking to supporters, many have had enough. They worry about the reputational damage of their club. They wonder if there’s a financially viable future. They look at the troubles at Reading recently and wonder if that could happen to them. It’s a worrying time and many want change.”

Rohl gave the impression that he’d had enough towards the end of the season.