Mandaric insists Owls ‘miles away’ from possible takeover

Chairman Milan Mandaric is keen to sell the Championship club, for a reported £25m, but talks have failed to produce firm offers.

“It’s all speculation,” said Mandaric last night. “I have got nothing tangible from anyone. Yes, there are groups interested in buying the club, but we are miles away for anything to happen.”

One of the major stumbling blocks has been Wednesday’s league position, with potential buyers deterred by the possibility of relegation out of the Championship and back into the third tier of English football.

With Saturday’s victory over Middlesbrough now giving the Owls a 12-point buffer over the bottom three, would-be bidders may step up their interest.

One of the first of those to go public is a Qatari consortium.

Football agent Jonathan Hope, who had been fronting the consortium, had claimed talks were at an advanced stage and a deal could be announced “over the next few days”.

“The club wanted an investor in terms of a buy-out and I have found a solution,” Hope said. “My team have been working endlessly to occupy the requirements set out by Milan Mandaric and find an investor.

“We believe we have now met this and we have agreed a suitable deal which will see the Qatari investors take control of the club and investing substantial amounts in every department to get Sheffield Wednesday back up to the Premier League where they belong and should be.

“I haven’t been part of the negotiations, but hopefully the deal will be announced over the next few days and the fans should get excited as this is a very lucrative deal for the club.

“This is a great opportunity for Sheffield Wednesday and we were more than happy to facilitate such a huge deal. I wish them all the best in the future and know their long-term plans are in the hands of the right people.”

Wednesday feel Hope has “jumped the gun” and are not expecting to make any announcement this week.

Mandaric has been in talks with several groups over the last year about a takeover, although claims he has been frustrated by time-wasting “tyre-kickers”.

But once Wednesday’s league status is confirmed, Mandaric can expect an upsurge in interest.

Atdhe Nuhiu, Wednesday’s match-winner against Boro, has revealed he dedicated his goal to his uncle, who died earlier this year.

The striker revealed a message on his shirt saying ‘You will always be in my heart XH. Nuhiu’.

Nuhiu said: “That goal was for my uncle who died one month ago. I wanted to score it for him.”