Sheffield Wednesday transfer twist is another embarrassment in Dejphon Chansiri saga | OneFootball

Callum Paterson's decision to leave Sheffield Wednesday for MK Dons is another humiliation for the troubled Championship club.

It has been a nightmare summer for Sheffield Wednesday, and their troubles are showing no sign of easing as the start of the new season draws ever closer.

Wednesday finished 12th in the Championship table last season, but any progress made on the pitch has been undone by a chaotic summer of off-field issues that has plunged the club into crisis.

Owner Dejphon Chansiri finally paid the wages of players and staff for May and June earlier this month, as well as the money owed to HMRC, which lifted two of the club's three transfer embargoes, but one still remains for the non-payment of fees to other clubs, while the Owls have also been hit with a three-window transfer fee ban, which is set to be extended as they get dangerously close to another breach.

After a summer of speculation over his future, it was announced on Tuesday that Wednesday manager Danny Rohl had left the club by mutual consent, and he follows a number of players in heading out of the Hillsborough exit door, including Anthony Musaba, Djeidi Gassama, Josh Windass and Michael Smith.

In further bad news for the Owls, it has also been confirmed that the club have been served with a prohibition notice that will prevent supporters from entering the North Stand until Sheffield City Council can be adequately satisfied that the necessary work has been carried out to make it safe for use.

As their turbulent summer continues, many Wednesday supporters will be wondering just how much worse their current plight will get before Chansiri agrees to a sale, and one transfer scenario this week highlighted just how far the club has fallen in recent months.

Callum Paterson's MK Dons move is the latest humiliation for Sheffield Wednesday

Before their troubled summer began, Wednesday announced back in May that they had offered long-serving forward Callum Paterson a new contract.

Paterson had spent the last five years at Hillsborough after arriving from Cardiff City in September 2020, and he fought his way back into Rohl's plans impressively over the course of last season, ending the campaign with a total of eight goals and two assists in 31 appearances.

As the extent of the Owls' financial woes became clear, Paterson rejected the club's initial contract proposal, but it was revealed last week that the 30-year-old was in talks about a potential return to Hillsborough, and he also resumed training with his former team-mates.

However, fresh doubts over Paterson's future emerged when he did not feature in Saturday's behind-closed-doors friendly against Mansfield Town, despite being expected to take part in the game, and it was revealed on Monday that Oxford United and MK Dons were keen on the Scot.

Just hours after news of their interest first emerged, ambitious League Two side MK Dons confirmed that they had completed the signing of Paterson, and manager Paul Warne described him as a "massive addition to the frontline".

Given the tough season that almost certainly lies ahead, losing a player of Paterson's experience and character is a huge blow for incoming manager Henrik Pedersen, but his decision to depart Wednesday and drop down two divisions to join the Dons is a damning indictment on the state of the club.

Wednesday are not the first club to have a player poached by MK Dons this summer, and in addition to Paterson, Warne has also convinced the likes of Gethin Jones, Will Collar, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Aaron Collins to become part of his project.

The Dons are clearly building something exciting as they aim to make a return to League One next season, so it is easy to see why players from higher divisions have been tempted to join the club, and they will likely be offering lucrative contracts to help sweeten the deal.

However, with Wednesday finishing 12th in the Championship and MK Dons finishing 19th in League Two, there was a huge 55 places between the two clubs in the English football pyramid last season, so it is certainly a sizeable drop for Paterson to make.

The Owls had an average attendance of 26,600 last season, which was almost 20,000 higher than the Dons' average gate of 6,879, and, based on their stature and historical achievements, the South Yorkshire outfit are the bigger club of the two by quite some distance.

It is difficult to blame Paterson - or any other player - for wanting to leave Hillsborough under the present circumstances, but the fact that MK Dons were able to offer him a better financial package and pitch a more attractive project to him is incredibly alarming for Wednesday supporters and a sad reflection of the club's current predicament.

Paterson worked tirelessly for the badge and weighed in with some important goals over the past five years, so he will depart with the best wishes of Owls supporters, but his decision to reject a new contract in order to join a League Two side is another kick in the teeth for a beleaguered fan base.