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After a summer of frustration and player exits, it seemed Sheffield Wednesday were finally allowed to sign new players, until the EFL performed a massive U-turn.
Amid financial difficulties for owner Dejphon Chansiri over the past few months, the Owls have been forced to sell some of their best players this summer.
Meanwhile, the EFL placed transfer restrictions on Sheffield Wednesday, meaning they were unable to replace any of the outgoing players.
Until today, the only Sheffield Wednesday signing this summer has been the emergency arrival of goalkeeper Ethan Horvath. But, that could all be set to change by the time the window shuts this evening.
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Sheffield Wednesday were given green light to sign Jaden Heskey
Earlier today, it was said Wednesday were in discussions with Jaden Heskey and Manchester City regarding a loan move. However, the major stumbling block was the fact that the Owls would be unable to pay his wages.
Later this afternoon, it seemed there had been a positive development, as Pete O’Rourke claimed Sheffield Wednesday have been given the green light to complete the deal.
O’Rourke said that the “EFL have now approved” the move and we are just waiting for official confirmation that the deal is done.
It was thought Man City would be covering the player’s wages for the loan period, which would appease EFL concerns over the deal. However, something has now gone wrong, and the EFL have changed their mind.
Just a couple of hours after his first post about the deal, O’Rourke shared a fresh update to say that the deal was not going to get approval from the EFL.
O’Rourke said: “More woe for Sheffield Wednesday as the EFL have blocked their proposed move for Manchester City attacker Jaden Heskey.”
It remains to be seen now whether the Owls can find a way to get the deal over the line before the 7pm deadline.
EFL and Dejphon Chansiri saga takes complex twist
On the morning of transfer deadline day, it seemed the EFL were not allowing Wednesday to sign any players. That’s due to the fact they had no proof or faith in the fact Chansiri would be able to fulfil player wages for new arrivals.
Since then, however, the Owls were said to be close to sealing the deal for Heskey and have also carried out a medical for Harry Amass, who would join on loan from Manchester United.
Wednesday fans will be hoping this means the Manchester rivals were being charitable and offering to pay the wages for their players. The alternative would be a very worrying theory that Chansiri can cover these wages, which would raise a number of questions.
Has the Sheffield Wednesday owner got a fresh influx of money that’ll keep him in place for longer? There are many fans who had hoped Chansiri was running out of time and money and would be forced out soon.
Even more sinister is the idea that Chansiri has had funds all along, but has been unwilling to put them into the club despite all the pressure and the issues.
Regardless, it’s worth looking at the positives here, which are that Henrik Pedersen looks set to get at least two new additions to his threadbare squad. Plus, the Independent Football Regulator may well take Chansiri down in November, anyway.
With the Heskey deal now falling apart, it would seem Chansiri’s financial position is even worse than we thought, and the long-term effects of this could be huge for the Owls.