On the face of it, Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer deadline day didn’t look like a particularly busy one.
Nobody left and only one person arrived, with Manchester United’s Harry Amass becoming the Owls’ only outfield signing of the summer. But that doesn’t tell the true story of Wednesday’s September 1st, a day that proved to be as chaotic as the rest of the club’s car crash of a summer.
Wednesday are a club in turmoil, led into it by chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, who has not been heard from publicly since a June statement where he stated that he was ‘willing to sell’ but that any deal ‘must be correct on all fronts’. What has followed has plunged things even deeper into the mire, with Henrik Pedersen being left hamstrung as manager following the sale of some players, the mutual termination of others, and a lack of ability to sign any replacements.
The Owls may be out of embargo after settling the debts owed to players, other teams and HMRC, but the consistency of their financial mismanagement sees them under a fee restriction until 2027 and in a position where any incoming needs to be ratified by the English Football League’s independent Club Financial Reporting Unit.
Special dispensation for Sheffield Wednesday
Behind the scenes Chansiri has been told that he must provide assurances that he can continue to fund the club going forward, it’s the only way the club will be given the green light to make additions. They required special dispensation to give Barry Bannan a new contract, and even that is on severely reduced terms in order to align with the current restrictions. Ethan Horvath came in as an emergency loan following Pierce Charles’ injury, and that too required negotiations with the league.
So that set the stage for Wednesday’s deadline day. Going into it there was at least some hope that restrictions would be eased somewhat, and that Pedersen would be able to add to his incredibly threadbare squad. For weeks the Dane and Wednesday’s Head of Recruitment, Kevin Beadell, had worked around the clock so that they’d be ready to pull the trigger if that green light eventually came.
Amass and United, who had liked what they’d heard from the Owls boss, were keen for a loan deal to be done, while The Star understands that Jaden Heskey, Samuel Rak-Sakyi and other Premier League youngsters were also lined up as deadline day approached.
Waking up on Monday morning, though, things weren’t looking good. We were of the understanding that nothing would be signed off, not even loans where wages were 100% paid by the parent club, due to other costs that come with a loan spell such as accommodation, bonuses and the like. Frustration had been growing.
Chansiri, it is understood, has been in contact with the EFL but has not been able to satisfy their desire for assurances, so – understandably – the league refused to budge. But then, suddenly, a light at the end of the tunnel…
News filtered through to this publication that there may be some wiggle room after all. Seemingly being communicated to those in charge of recruitment from on high within the club, those looking to get deals done were under the impression that they may be able to do so. Pedersen watched on at the U21s game as a young Owls side beat Colchester United, constantly on and off the phone as he sought to bolster his ranks.
Harry Amass in the building
Amass was there too, taking in the Hillsborough surroundings having arrived for his medical for a move that – at that point – still might not happen. There was also rumours of Heskey making the trip to Sheffield, though that remains unconfirmed. Despite the lack of communication from Chansiri, people were doing their best to get things over the line.
And it wasn’t just concerns over incomings, either. Bailey Cadamarteri’s future was thrown up into the air over the last week as clubs came in with offers to buy him, Wednesday resisted at first, but there was then a suggestion that he could be sold after all. The 20-year-old was waiting to board a plane to join up with the Jamaican national team for the first time, but after conversations with people within the Jamaican Football Federation it was suggested that his departure be delayed.
In the end he jetted out safe in the knowledge that he would remain an Owl, news that will have come as music to the ears of Pedersen – a man desperate not to lose any more players.
Meanwhile, a social media post from Pierce Charles sent fans into a spin, his decision to use Sampha’s ‘Indecision’ turned out to be more of a coincidence than any sort of hint. His shoulder surgery went well, and now the talented shot-stopper will begin his rehabilitation. As a Sheffield Wednesday player, thankfully.
Around 6pm The Star was informed that all moves were in doubt, with the earlier optimism seemingly being misplaced. Another miscommunication from the top wouldn’t be a surprise at this point, would it? Suggestions are that Chanisiri either couldn’t – or wouldn’t – grab the olive branch being offered to him. Even people close to the deals didn’t appear to have a clue what was going on, and one recruitment manager stated privately, “I can’t remember witnessing anything like this before.”
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6.30pm. ‘Maybe Amass, but nobody else’, we were told. And why? You might ask. Well United were so eager to get a deal done, so eager for the England youth international to spend a few months at Hillsborough, that they agreed to pay for everything. Wages, accommodation, bonuses, the lot. Only then did the EFL agree to let it happen, because with Chansiri’s lack of assurances it had to be a deal that wouldn’t cost Wednesday a penny.
And a further word on Amass is deserving. Here you have a teenager, a youngster tipped as a future England international, who waited from 9am through to about 6.59pm to understand his own immediate future. A player who rejected moves elsewhere because Hillsborough felt like the right place to be.
Amass has actively chosen to earn less money, to give up potential bonuses, because he wanted to come and join this fight. That’s the sort of kid that Wednesday need in their corner. He’s on board for the scrap.
The announcement came bang on 7pm, with the last kick of the game you could say. But that would be all… A teenage left back and an emergency goalkeeper. Given who left and who came in, there’s an argument for it being one of the worst transfer windows that any football club has had, and there’s one man at the forefront of all of it. Wednesday were in real trouble before, and though his talent is undoubted – and he definitely improves the side – Harry Amass’ arrival hasn’t changed that.
Henrik Pedersen needed help, and unfortunately didn’t get any. If things don’t change then it’ll be exactly the same story in January, too. Everyone involved deserves better from the man at the top.
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