Sheffield Wednesday have a potential buyer, as per an emerging statement from The 1867 Group, but owner Dejphon Chansiri is ‘blocking a sale’.
A group of Sheffield Wednesday fans have recently formed The 1867 Group; ‘an independent fan group created for bringing an end to the current ownership of Sheffield Wednesday’.
It comes amid overwhelming criticism aimed at Chansiri following years of mismanagement and improper planning, with this season being the peak of his struggles at the club.
Following the exit of Darren Moore at the start of the summer, Sheffield Wednesday have started on a rapid decline which now sees them rooted to the foot of the Championship table, and in need of a miracle to stay up this season.
And tension between Chansiri and the fans has reached an all-time high following a string of bizarre statements made by the Owls‘ owner, with the standout one being his demand for the fans to pay a £2million HMRC bill, which Chansiri then paid himself soon after.
Who is interested in a Sheffield Wednesday takeover?
It’s not known. But The 1867 Group have released a statement revealing that Sheffield Wednesday do have interest, and that Chansiri recently arrived in the UK to meet with a consortium over a potential sale.
The below statement reveals that said consortium provided the necessary proof of funding and in turn requested information on the club from Chansiri, which has not yet been provided.
The statement also reports that Chansiri is ‘not acting in good faith’.
He’s often stated that, should the Sheffield Wednesday supporters want him to sell the club, then he will. And he’s often stated that should a proper buyer be interested and be a better alternative for the club than he, then he will sell.
But, as per The 1867 Group’s statement, Sheffield Wednesday have potential buyers, and Chansiri is not willing to sell.
Dejphon Chansiri stands firm
Should this information be correct, then Chansiri is certainly acting unfaithfully.
His one saving grace is perhaps the fact that he does want the best for the club, and that, despite his outbursts and improper planning, he has the club’s best interests at heart.
But not selling disproves that idea.
Chansiri has the club plummeting back to League One and with a horde of players out of contract next summer, the decline could go further than League One.
The club is in a mess and needs a complete reset from top to bottom, and new owners would be a huge first step in achieving that.
But Chansiri is apparently unwilling to sell and the only possible reason for it would be that he won’t get as much money as he wants for the club.
However, that’s only because of the mess he’s created. Selling at a loss would mean accepting defeat and accepting that his reign has mostly been a failure, which is something that Chansiri as a person doesn’t appear to be willing to accept.