Sheffield Wednesday takeover news: American bids, Saudi disinterest, Danny Rohl future | OneFootball

There is speculation that Sheffield Wednesday could be sold, so here are the latest developments on what is - and isn't - happening at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri has been coming under increasing pressure to sell the club, and the end of the 2024/25 season has brought considerable speculation that the club could be under new ownership by the start of next season.

Wednesday ended the 2024/25 season in 12th place in the Championship, but the end of the season has brought a flurry of speculation about which direction the club follows next.

Manager Danny Röhl was the subject of rumours linking him to the vacant managerial post at Southampton, but the Saints eventually decided to hire former Lens coach Will Still instead.

Here we take a look at all the latest Sheffield Wednesday takeover news swirling around Hillsboroigh right now....

Two bids rejected from American consortium

The Sheffield Star reported at the end of April that Wednesday had been subject to a takeover bid from an American consortium, believed to be connected to Adam Shaw, a Sheffield-raised businessman now based in Florida.

A club spokesman told them: “We can confirm an expression of interest was received from USA-based investors, working together with a previous sponsor of the club. No proof of funds was presented, nor the identity of the investors, and the offer was derisory."

This week the Star confirmed that a second bid from the same consortium had been made, which has also been rejected.

Possible Saudi connections don't seem likely to come to anything

Similar speculation has also risen regarding Turki Alalshikh, who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority and who is reported to have a net worth of around $2.8 billion

But speaking on Talksport, Simon Jordan said that although he had spoken to Alalshikh, who has owned the Spanish club Almeria since 2019, about the benefits of investing in Sheffield Wednesday, Alalshikh had said to him that he didn't want to buy into a club in the north of England: "I suggested Sheffield Wednesday to him, but he doesn’t want Sheffield Wednesday, he doesn’t want a club in the north. He wants a club in the south, and Millwall and Southampton are the two that he thinks are interesting to him.”

It is, of course, entirely possible that Alalshikh could change his mind about this, but at the moment there is nothing to suggest that he has any interest in buying the club at all.

Röhl's future remains uncertain, despite Southampton going for Still

The future of manager Danny Rohl remains very much up in the air. Part of the reason for Rohl's decision to move on from Hillsborough was a breakdown in relations between the manager and the club owner, Dejphon Chansiri.

This has been known about since the end of last year, and Wednesday fans may have hoped that Röhl might stay, were a new owner to take over the running of the club. In the end, Southampton preferred Will Still over him for their vacant managerial position.

But although Röhl has said that he is in no hurry to make a decision over his future, there remains interest in taking him elsewhere. The latest rumour to do the rounds was linking him with the Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, but reports in the German newspaper Bild this week have confirmed that, "talks with Röhl failed to achieve their goal."

The sticking point with Werder Bremen was reported by BBC Sheffield's Rob Staton as compensation. On X, Staton said that "the high release clause prevented things from going any further", and added in a follow-up that: "Sources close to the situation believe the compensation figure is excessive and prohibitive, with no negotiation. Understand Röhl sought clarity early in the summer which some argue would’ve been in best interests of the club."

Röhl's departure does still seem inevitable, though Wednesday would be unlikely to sack him because they'd have to pay up the full balance of his contract if they did. It is, however, worth asking what the point of keeping a manager at the club might be, whether by sticking to a compensation payment that other clubs baulk at paying, if he wants to move on.

All of this leaves Sheffield Wednesday's position completely uncertain as they head into their summer break, with a manager who evidently doesn't want to be there any more and an owner who is receiving offers to buy the club but dismissing them almost as soon as he receives them.

Wednesday supporters will be hoping for quick resolutions to these pressing matters, but it doesn't seem at present as though they are going to get them.