"I know that he wants" - Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops Sheffield Wednesday, Dejphon Chansiri claim | OneFootball

One bid has been made, and rejected, for the Owls amid frustration over the Thai native's ownership of the club.

Dejphon Chansiri, who recently rejected an American bid for Sheffield Wednesday, is holding the club back from reaching their full potential, according to Lee Hendrie.

News broke on Monday that an offer from a stateside consortium had been made to the Thai owner of the Owls, but it was rejected, as per The Star.

A statement from the club on the offer described it as "derisory" and said that none of the factors that would allow any deal to go forward, like proof of funds or the identity of the bidders, were included. The statement also revealed that a former sponsor of the club was part of the group who put the offer in, but added that the sponsor still owed Wednesday money.

This interest in the club comes off the back of demands from many of the club's supporters for Chansiri to sell the Owls to someone else, after he failed to pay the club's players on time, which almost led to them receiving a three-window-long transfer ban.

Since then, a Moroccan businessman named Anas Sefrioui has emerged as an interested party, as per Alan Nixon, and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has told Saudi Arabian billionaire Turki Alalshikh to cast an eye on the Owls, who he believes have huge potential for growth.

Lee Hendry's honest assessment of Dejphon Chansiri

Hendrie, a former EFL player turned Sky Sports pundit, agrees with Jordan's assessment of what Wednesday could offer a new owner, and he thinks that the reason that they haven't been more successful is down to the owner.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie stated that the Owls' only way to really progress forward is without Chansiri at the helm.

"I know that he wants a hell of a lot of money for the football club, and he holds all the cards which makes it really difficult," the former Aston Villa midfielder said.

"I've said this before, the club has loads of potential there. The fanbase that's there, the history of the football club, but when you've got someone that I feel is just holding you back, and I do feel that Chansiri is holding that club back a little bit, just because it does have bags of potential.

"They need to try and come up with a deal that is good for Chansiri, a takeover that will give them that opportunity and end the Chansiri era, to be quite honest.

"I really do feel that until that's sorted out, you want someone that's going to come in - I'm not saying that he hasn't tried to steer the club forward, but there's a pretty clear identity that he does want a lot of money for the football club, and that's holding them back, I feel."

The Thai businessman has said he'd be willing to sell if the right offer came along.

There are bags of potential waiting to be unlocked at Hillsborough; it'll be easiest to unlock them if Danny Rohl is still there to do it

As well as the uncertainty that surrounds Wednesday's ownership, there is even more of it when it comes to the future of the manager, Danny Rohl. The impressive, young German has performed one or two minor miracles since being appointed in October 2023, singlehandedly dragging the club away from relegation to League One last season and turning them into a solid mid-table outfit in the current term.

But the saga of the non-payment of players seemingly wore heavy on him, and he has not definitively said that he plans to be in the Hillsborough dugout for the 2025/26 campaign.

Leicester City, Southampton and RB Leipzig are all interested in Rohl. If Wednesday lose him and his magic touch this summer, it's going to be even harder for them to fulfill the potential that a lot of clever footballing people see in them.