John Textor has registered his interest in Sheffield Wednesday with the owner, Dejphon Chansiri, and is poised for talks over a potential takeover of the troubled Championship club, the Guardian understands.
The American businessman is understood to have sounded out Chansiri’s representatives in recent days and wants to schedule a meeting with him for next week after flying to the UK. The asking price for Wednesday is thought to be about £100m, although it remains to be seen whether Textor would be prepared to offer that much.
Chansiri has held talks with several potential buyers this summer and said in June he had rejected £40m from an unknown American consortium, which is not connected to Textor.
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Textor sold his 44.9% stake in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson last month and is keen to reinvest in an English club as quickly as possible. He is said to view Wednesday, who failed to pay wages to players and staff on time in March, May and June, as an opportunity to revive a historic club similar to the challenge he took on at Botafogo in 2022. Botafogo were languishing in the second tier but were crowned South American champions last year after winning the Brazilian title in 2024. It is understood Textor consulted the football financier Keith Harris regarding Wednesday but has decided not to involve the former investment banker, who has brokered takeovers at West Ham, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Many Wednesday supporters boycotted Tuesday night’s home game against Leeds in the Carabao Cup in protest against Chansiri, who took over in 2015 from Milan Mandaric. The EFL said this month it was deeply concerned about the club’s financial situation. The manager Danny Röhl and several key players departed this summer and Wednesday began the season with only 15 first-team players after having a transfer embargo lifted, although signings still have to be approved by the league.
There are also issues with Hillsborough, with the local council having deemed the North Stand not safe for spectators in July before that prohibition notice was lifted days before the first home game of the campaign against Stoke.
It is understood that Textor – who has also been working with the Swiss bank UBS on an initial public offering (IPO) for his football investment firm, Eagle Football Holdings – would focus initially on investing in the squad if he succeeded Chansiri.