EFL take Sheffield Wednesday transfer embargo action in positive Hillsborough update | OneFootball

Crisis club Sheffield Wednesday have had their transfer embargo lifted by the EFL, but they're not out of danger yet.

Sheffield Wednesday have had their transfer embargo lifted by the EFL, less than 48 hours before the start of their Championship season.

Crisis club Sheffield Wednesday finally have some good news on the eve of their new Championship season, with confirmation that their transfer embargo has been lifted.

It's been a chaotic summer at Hillsborough, with wages going unpaid, takeover talk which has stalled, and the first-team squad being reduced to its bare-bones by departing players.

With just 16 senior professionals left at the club, new head coach Henrik Pedersen potentially faced head-aches over team selection, but the news of the lifting of the embargo does at least allow Wednesday to start some degree of squad-building for 2025-26, though the lifting of the embargo does come with some fairly significant caveats.

Sheffield Wednesday's transfer embargo has been lifted

The Sheffield Star reported on Friday evening that the transfer embargo placed on Sheffield Wednesday in relation to non-payment of wages and transfer fees outstanding to other clubs had been lifted. This is confirmed by the EFL's website.

But there does remain an entry on there for Sheffield Wednesday which confirms the qualifier over their embargo being lifted; they remain under Fee Restrictions with the EFL alongside Hull City, meaning that they are still bound by a business plan set out by the League's Club Financial Reporting Unit. This means that any dealings will have to be approved by the league, and with the club having found itself in the financial mess it's currently in, it's likely that those restrictions will be significant.

The Star reports that it's unclear whether this means that captain Barry Bannan - who agreed a new contract with the club but wasn't able to be registered to play for them because of these restrictions - will be registered in time for the first match of the season at Leicester on Sunday afternoon.

Getting the embargo lifted is only the start of resolving Sheffield Wednesday's problems

While the lifting of the transfer embargo is good news for Sheffield Wednesday, it is a temporary solution rather than anything permanent. The payment made to bring everything up to date was done using Wednesday's Premier League solidarity payment, and this isn't something they're going to receive every month throughout the season.

Sheffield Wednesday still have considerable financial expenses. Their wage bill and the amounts to be paid to HMRC every month are not inconsiderable, and there is urgent work to be carried out on the North Stand at Hillsborough, if it's to be made safe. It's still unclear whether the stand will be open for their first home match of the season against Stoke City on the 16th August.

And the calibre of player that they can bring in will be limited by the restrictions that remain in place. Wednesday have been limited to a wage cap of £7,000-a-week per player, and this is unlikely to change because, while the money they owe has been brought up to date, the financial issues facing the club remain as great as ever.

With few updates on a potential takeover of the club and fan protests planned for the start of the Leicester City match, Sheffield Wednesday certainly aren't out of the woods just yet, however welcome this particular piece of news might be.