John Textor warns Sheffield Wednesday time is running out on potential takeover
Controversial football club owner John Textor says he is one of "three or four" parties in discussions to buy Sheffield Wednesday, but has warned "time is running out".
It has been clear for around six months that owner/chairman Dejphon Chansiri is no longer willing and/or able to fund the Championship club, with American Textor simply referring to "changes he's had in his life that has led to the separation between his future and the club's future".
The Owls are under six transfer embargoes for failing to pay their way or set out a realistic plan as to how they plan to do so in future, and have been through four others in the summer.
With their squad ravaged by the financial problems, they have just six points from the opening nine league games and a Football League charge laid against the club – there has been one against Chansiri personally too – is likely to lead to a points deduction. Some have speculated it could be as high as 15 points given they have been repeat offenders in not paying their own players, HMRC and others since the charge was issued in June.
Without the possibility of signing players in January unless all six embargoes can be lifted, and unable to pay transfer or loan fees for players until 2027 anyway, relegation looks a near-certainty, even at this stage of the season.
"It's just really complicated," Textor told The Added Time podcast. "Wednesday is one of the clubs that we're looking at.
"It's not that I wouldn't love to come in tomorrow, but they're in a very difficult situation.
"There's a lot to figure out with the owner. There is a lot to figure out with the league itself and there's not a lot of time to figure it out.
"It seems like half to two thirds of that squad is under the age of 21 and by the time we can even get in and address things, if we were to reach a deal with the club, I hope it's not too late.
"I think they're fighting hard, the fans are supporting the squad if not the owner necessarily.
"I think it's been a bit overstated, we're one of three or four groups that is getting an appropriate amount of open-mindedness from the owner."
There is a strong suspicion amongst some fans that Chansiri has no intention of selling, and a wider feeling that the price he is asking for is unrealistic, perhaps as high as £100m for a club with a neglected ground and training ground, and threadbare squad.
Textor, though, believes Chansiri is open to the idea of moving on.
"I hate to say anything controversial to the fans, but the owner – at least in my experience with him – has been very open to ideas," he said.
"I've had a little bit of interaction, some direct. I know he's very concerned about the club, I know it may not look like it."
Textor owns Eagle Football Holdings, the majority owner of Botafogo, Lyon and RWDM Brussels. It held a minority stake in Crystal Palace, which he sold in July in a failed attempt to avoid demotion from the Europa to the Conference League over dual ownership rules.
Lyon were relegation to Ligue 2 in June over financial issues, only to be reinstated when Textor resigned as president under pressure from shareholders.
Having an English club is important to his multi-club strategy.
"Collaboration between our clubs is why we're having such big sporting success but if you don't have a UK partner you can't really offer those pathways to players," he explained.
"The best players in the world want to get to the best league in the world. We'd like to have a majority interest in a club in the UK."
Textor admitted he is sore about how his time at Palace ended.
"There's obviously some bitterness as to how UEFA handled it," he said. "To be heavily inspired if not encouraged to sell your interests in a club, having been given some assurances – if not assurances, heavy indications – that the fans would be able to enjoy Europa League football and then to finally get demoted even after we fully separate is hard to explain."
He is equally unhappy with events at Lyon.
"The fact that we can approved by UEFA for the Europa League and passed the very onerous financial sustainability review and then a couple of days later get administratively relegated, I don't think that happens anywhere in the world," he argued.
"It was the egos of men that wanted administrative change. They did not want the American cowboy and my version of reform and the prior owner I bought out worked aggressively against the interests of the club.
"To protect the club I had to step aside. I'm still the majority owner of Eagle Football."