Exclusive: American Businessman John Textor Confident of Buying Crisis-Hit Sheffield Wednesday

John Textor, the American based businessman and former executive chairman of FuboTV, is growing increasingly confident of becoming Sheffield Wednesday’s new owner, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

American eyes quick deal for crisis-hit club

Although a number of other individuals and consortiums have expressed an interest in purchasing the crisis club, sources at Hillsborough believe Textor’s bid remains the most attractive to current owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The 59-year-old, whose shares in Lyon cost Crystal Palace a place in next season’s Europa League, is in a position to push through a quick sale having disposed of his holdings in both teams. 

That, coupled with his experience of passing English football’s financial tests, has proven particularly attractive to Chansiri given the Thai’s need to dispose of Wednesday quickly.

Textor, who was born in Missouri but grew up in Florida, has made no secret of his desire to purchase either a Premier League or Championship side outright after investing in Palace, Lyon and Botofogo of Brazil.

Textor ready to front funds as show of intent

Crucially, with Wednesday failing to pay their players and staff on time on numerous occasions over the past 18 months, he is said to be prepared to advance Chansiri a tranche of money as both a gesture of goodwill and a way of demonstrating his means.

Although Wednesday insiders stress the situation could change quickly, particularly if manager Danny Rohl is disciplined upon his return to work having failed to report for pre-season training on time, Textor believes 

Wednesday’s size and stature make them an attractive proposition despite the chaos behind the scenes.

An experienced operator in the sports and television fields, Textor would be welcomed with open arms by Wednesday fans who have grown tired of Chansiri’s leadership style.

But his CV is not without controversy. Having acquired 40 percent stakes in both Palace and Lyon, the latter were recently relegated due to poor financial management which prompted him to resign his leadership role there.

Palace had been set to compete in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup. But, following a UEFA investigation, they found the Londoners had breached multi-ownership rules and demoted them to the Conference League instead.

Having paid just over £80m for a 40 percent share in Palace, Textor brokered a £190m deal with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to comply with UEFA legislation. 

But the governing body deemed they were still controlled by the same group after a March 1st deadline for potential registration in the same competition.

Wednesday’s arch-rivals Sheffield United, who were beaten in the Championship play-off final two months ago, also have Americans owners.