A new dawn began at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, as it was announced that David Storch's Arise group had completed their takeover, ending six months of administration.
But, despite talks rapidly accelerating between the US consortium and the EFL about the takeover, Wednesday's future still looked bleak.
The Owls were already relegated to League One and had fears about starting next season with a 15-point deduction due to the failure to satisfy the insolvency rulings, but the club were pleased to announce that the EFL had waived that deduction ahead of their final day clash with West Brom.
Sheffield Wednesday will still be under budget restrictions for the next couple of seasons, but they will still be able to sign players ahead of the new campaign, allowing them to be competitive next season as they strive to make a swift Championship return.
Sheffield Wednesday exploring a permanent Jaden Heskey signing
Jaden Heskey of Manchester City
One of the players Henrik Pedersen would like to see brought in permanently this summer is Manchester City loanee Jaden Heskey, per a report from Joe Crann, via The Wednesday World.
The 20-year-old was one of five loan signings Wednesday were allowed to make back in January, as they looked to remain as competitive as possible ahead of the second half of the Championship campaign.
And during his time at Hillsborough, Heskey played in all but one game, and 19 of his 20 Championship appearances came from the off.
The report states that the midfielder is still under contract at Manchester City, where he was the captain of City's elite development squad before leaving for some much-needed senior football midway through the season.
Therefore, it may be difficult for the Owls to negotiate a deal for one of the hottest prospects not already featuring in Pep Guardiola's squad. However, Wednesday are reportedly hopeful that the good impression they made on Heskey during his time at Hillsborough will persuade him to join permanently in their journey to get out of League One.
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With Wednesday doing deals in the past where they've avoided paying large transfer fees by including certain clauses and add-ons for the future, perhaps this would be the way for the Owls to get Manchester City to agree on a deal, especially if the third-tier side is set to be under financial restrictions this coming summer.
Jaden Heskey on a permanent deal would be a statement of intent from Sheffield Wednesday ahead of their League One return
Jaden Heskey - Sheffield Wednesday
With Sheffield Wednesday starting on zero points next season, there'll be every belief that a strong transfer window could see them right near the top of League One, perhaps a few years before many felt their climb back up the EFL would properly begin.
Bringing in Heskey, who had plenty of Championship admirers over the past year due to his successes and leadership in one of the best academies in the country at Manchester City, would be a real purposeful signing in their attempts to get back up to the second tier as soon as possible.
It's been a difficult second half of the season for the 20-year-old, but that has been the case for a lot of the inexperienced youngsters who have been thrown in the deep end at Hillsborough.
Despite that, the City loanee has still shown plenty of promise and potential, which he could easily translate into being one of the top third-tier midfielders almost immediately next season.
So, Wednesday will be hoping that they've done enough over the past few months to persuade him to drop into League One permanently. The support will have helped, especially on the final day in front of a season-high crowd in the Championship, and the exposure to regular gametime will have, too.
He'll get that and more if he makes a permanent switch to Hillsborough — the more being a potential promotion on his CV in the coming years. Perhaps that might be something Heskey cannot turn down.