Sheffield Wednesday offer warning to Huddersfield Town’s incoming owner

Huddersfield Town chairman Dean Hoyle, left, salutes the fans after his final match at the John Smith's Stadium, a draw with Manchester United (Picture: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire).

The Owls were placed under a transfer embargo last summer after breaching Football League rules on profit and sustainability.

Wednesday, under ambitious owner Dejphon Chansiri, invested heavily to try to reach the top flight, but twice fell short in the play-offs. Chansiri admitted last January there was a possibility his club could again be placed under a “soft embargo” in the future.

Town, whose two-year stay among the elite comes to an end with Sunday’s visit to Southampton, will be under new ownership by the time the 2019-20 Championship campaign gets under way after Hoyle agreed to sell a 75 per cent shareholding to Phil Hodgkinson, the founder of legal services firm Pure Business Group and a lifelong Terriers fan.

“We have seen many Championship clubs ‘blow their brains’,” said Hoyle, who will retain a minority shareholding in the club once the sale to Hodgkinson is approved by the football authorities.

“You look at Sheffield Wednesday. They are having to sell and cannot afford players.

“The chairman has been very honest and transparent to say that they have probably spent too much in the past. We cannot afford to get there and are on a really good financial footing and have got to make sure we do it right.

“But I am not the chairman any more. Once Phil gets his fit and proper test and officially becomes chairman of Huddersfield how much Phil wants to spend is entirely up to him. It is not my issue or problem.

“All that I want to make sure is that my wish is that everything Phil does is in the best interests of Huddersfield Town. I am sure that will be the case.”