Sheffield Wednesday

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Getty Images

"The problem with Sheffield Wednesday is not a lack of credible buyers. The problem is a credible seller."

Those were the words from James Silverwood from the club's Supporters Trust in a piece by the BBC's Nick Mashiter reviewing Sunday's protest at Leicester City.

It will resonate with many fans who wonder what Dejphon Chansiri's motives are.

There's been a lot of speculation recently about takeovers being "close", names being linked. I would urge caution, due to the person doing the selling.

The fans made themselves heard with an excellently organised, peaceful, legal protest at the King Power Stadium organised by the Trust.

Even the Leicester fans joined in, giving Wednesday fans a standing ovation and holding up a banner against Chansiri themselves.

The national media covered the event, with Sky TV cameras capturing a moment that made many people contacting our show emotional and proud.

Further protests have been arranged for Saturday's first home game against Stoke. Supporters have boycotted the new home and away kit and a message is being sent by the Trust to not buy other merchandise or food at the ground.

The English Football League seem to be applying pressure and there are reports this week that the new football regulator could be fast-tracked with the power to strip owners of their right to run clubs and sanction takeovers at a price of their choice.

Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe are being name-checked within those reports.

We're mid-way through another month and getting to the point where people start to wonder whether they will get paid on time again, something that hasn't been the case for players and staff for the last three months.

A points deduction is inevitable and the prospect of a long, hard season is an unavoidable truth.

There appears to be no way back. No future for the club where Chansiri is the owner and the club functions with everyone pulling in the same direction and football, not chaos, are the main focus. The fans say enough is enough and they mean it.

In many instances, an owner facing this situation would do a deal and move on. Yet this is Chansiri. He is unpredictable.

Even faced with being the poster-child for a regulator that might be looking for an early strike, even knowing that fans will never welcome his ownership, even knowing he owns a product that is losing value rapidly with every player departure.

Even with an infrastructure not matching Championship peers, you can't say for sure what he will do. Not even now.

For every report, or every internet leak or 'in the know' post (there have been too many of these and they don't help the process or situation), this is the reality: Until you see it announced as signed, sealed and delivered, you can't predict what Chansiri will do.

Adjust your hopes and expectations accordingly.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Sheffield understands that Sheffield Wednesday defender Max Lowe has opted to remain at the club.

The 28-year-old handed in his notice at the start of the month but now looks to staying at the Owls.

Lowe featured in Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Leicester City on the opening weekend of the Championship season.

The former Sheffield United player made 37 appearances for Wednesday last season as they finished 12th in the league.

Wednesday host Stoke City at Hillsborough on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Ian Bennett from the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust has praised Owls fans following their protest during the club's 2-1 defeat by Leicester City.

The away supporters boycotted the first five minutes of the game in protest against owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Bennett was also grateful to the Foxes' staff and fans for their support during the match.

"The fans and the club at Leicester are totally day and night to where we are at Hillsborough - the stewards, police, safety officers helped us. It was probably the proudest I've been since Wembley '91," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"It has got international coverage which is what we wanted. I was disappointed not to get the win as the team played very well.

"If the team continue to perform how they did on Sunday, there will be no issues about staying up."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United defender Harry Amass is in talks over a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday

The Championship side have had an embargo lifted meaning they can sign players and it is understood United would not be looking to get a fee for what would be regarded as a development loan.

It is not clear yet whether Amass will join Wednesday or look at his other options and it remains to be seen whether he will be involved at Tamworth on Wednesday when United's under-21 side open their National League Cup campaign.

Amass was part of the squad that went to Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of last season, but following the summer arrival of Paraguay Under-20 international Diego Leon, Old Trafford chiefs have decided to let him leave on loan.

The 18-year-old won United's young player of the year award last season, as he made seven first-team appearances at left wing-back under Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese's predecessor, Erik ten Hag, had felt Amass was not yet physically strong enough to play in the Premier League.

After their EFL transfer embargo was lifted, Sheffield Wednesday are weighing up 60 potential transfer targets, with free agents Liam Cooper, 33, formerly of Leeds and Scotland, and 35-year-old former Burnley and Brentford defender Ben Mee among them. (Sheffield Star, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

"The amount of new managers coming into the league this year, I have never seen anything like it".

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by special guests Tommy Smith and Alex Bruce to preview the 2025-26 Championship season.

They discuss a range of topics including assessing chances of sides coming down from the Premier League, who the contenders might be for the top six and take a deep dive of each of the sides promoted from League One.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ and more on BBC Sounds.

The 2025-26 Championship opening weekend concludes with an intriguing encounter between Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday afternoon (16:30 BST).

The visiting Owls have been in the midst of a financial crisis, with key players departing and threatening strike action, leaving the English Football League to wonder if Sunday's game will happen at all.

It hasn't quite been so bad for Leicester but their pre-season hasn't been all plain sailing either, with a lot of confusion surrounding the managerial position finally being answered by the appointment of former Queens Park Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes.

• Leicester City are unbeaten across their last three league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W2 D1), last enjoying a longer undefeated run against the Owls between August 1967 and October 1981 (six games).

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost three of their last four away league games against Leicester City (W1), conceding 2+ goals in each defeat.

• Leicester are unbeaten across their last six opening games of a league campaign (W3 D3), since a 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford to start the 2018-19 season.

• This is the fourth time in the 21st century that Sheffield Wednesday are starting a Championship season against a side relegated from the Premier League the previous campaign – they lost 2-1 against both QPR (2013-14) and Southampton (2023-24) but beat Aston Villa 1-0 (2016-17).

• This will be the 69th time that Leicester will start a league campaign with a home match, with only Everton having more opening matches on home soil across England's top four tiers (72).