Why Mike Ashley has a ‘advantage’ in race to seal Sheffield Wednesday takeover

It has been revealed why former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley may lead the battle to complete an acquisition of Sheffield Wednesday.

According to a Guardian story published Monday morning, the 61-year-old has a strong advantage in negotiations with the Owls’ present administrators, Begbies Traynor.

The Championship side has been under the firm’s control since Friday, October 24th, when controversial former owner Dejphon Chansiri placed it into administration.

The Thailand-based businessman took these moves despite fears that Wednesday would face a winding-up petition due to his failure to pay off a £1 million tax bill to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts, and Kris Wigfield, a lifelong Wednesday supporter and season-ticket holder, are the three people currently in charge of providing the Steel City outfit with some much-needed stability in the short term before any potential buyer deal can be approved and ratified by the powers that be, such as the EFL.

The Owls currently have a large list of potential buyers, including Ashley, US billionaire John McEvoy, and John Textor, a former Crystal Palace and Lyon stakeholder.

However, as contentious as his personal background on Tyneside may have been, such events could benefit Wednesday and himself in the coming weeks as takeover discussions heat up.

Why Mike Ashley has a possible ‘advantage’ in the Sheffield Wednesday takeover race

The guy who made his millions through the country’s largest sportswear retailer, Sports Direct, which is now controlled by Ashley’s parent company, Frasers, has been heavily connected with a takeover of S6 in recent weeks, with his name first mentioned by local writer Alan Biggs.

Such occurrences have continued as Wednesday is currently in administration, a situation that those linked with the club have chosen to accept, since Chansiri’s control on the club was effectively ended in the process, despite being slammed with an automatic 12-point deduction.

According to reports, Begbies Traynor was advised by the EFL not to sell the club right away, instead leaving it on the open market for at least 28 days, implying that the earliest possible date for a takeover is November 21st.

The administrators have lately announced that any bidder joining the queue must provide proof of at least £50 million in funds, which, according to recent updates, is in double figures, with three parties able to do so ahead of the recent goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Ashley is reportedly preparing a £10 million bid ahead of Wednesday’s ‘Blue and White Night’ against Norwich City in order to complete a speedy transfer.

The former Newcastle owner is reported to be one of the individuals able to produce the aforementioned proof of cash, with the added benefit that his existence is already known by the EFL, who are said to have no concerns about the source or adequacy of where these monies have come from.

Mike Ashley will have learned from previous Newcastle United mistakes as Sheffield Wednesday talks escalate.

According to the report, Ashley has now been able to conduct due diligence on the club, indicating that he has clearly learned from his mistakes when acquiring Newcastle for £134 million in 2007, with it being revealed that such measures were not taken and that he was unaware of the debts remaining in the club’s accounts at the time.

The Owls aren’t the only second-tier club Ashley has attempted to save; he passed up the opportunity to do so with Derby County in 2022 before lifelong supporter and owner David Clowes stepped in.

Ashley was, of course, unpopular with North East supporters for a variety of reasons, but he is entering a new period at Hillsborough, one in which fans are likely to accept a much more steady rebuild following years of false dawns and uncertainty.