By Thai Newsroom Reporters
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY manager Danny Rohl is resolutely looking to keep outstanding players with the Owls for next season with hopes of building a stronger squad rising beyond the final game of the current season scheduled for tomorrow.
Rohl is earnestly looking forward to holding a “make-or-break” negotiation with Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejpon Chansiri as soon as next week with focus on sought-after financial investment to keep those prominent players with the Owls now struggling to survive in the Championship, the second tier of the English football system.
No matter if the Owls are going to stay in the Championship or be relegated to the third-tiered League 1 largely due to injury-stricken, underperforming players, the highly speculated talk between Dejpon and Rohl is most certainly going to take place or else the German manager himself would rather opt out by parting company with the Thai-owned club.
Rohl’s bargaining chips will be undoubtedly plenty if the Owls pull off a draw, let alone a win, in the away game against Sunderland to keep themselves from relegation tomorrow regardless of the results for a couple of rival clubs, namely Plymouth Argyle and Birmingham, who are also struggling to stay in the Championship.
Nonetheless, the Thai owner will be primarily obliged to lend solid support for the planned strengthening of the Owls squad simply by investing a portion of an estimated total of 500 million pounds out of his pocket in it so the German manager could keep those prominent players and buy others from rival Championship clubs or even those in the Premier League, the first tier of the English football system.
Related to Thirapong Chansiri, the CEO of Thai Union Group, the world’s largest canned tuna manufacturer, Dejpon has been viewed by many, if not most, Owls supporters as a “happy-go-lucky” businessperson who would be habitually penny-pinching rather than prodigal when it comes to a matter of financial investment.
Negative sentiment spontaneously adopted by Sheffield Wednesday supporters toward Dejpon arose last October when the Thai owner publicly called on all the Owls fans to pool up some two million pounds among themselves to help him pay for the club’s overdue tax bills.
Among as many as 19 Sheffield Wednesday players with the probability, if not the likelihood, of departing the Thai-owned club upon the end of current season are several outstanding ones whom Rohl would almost certainly encourage to stay with him at least until next season ends.
Those noted players whose contracts with the Owls have not been extended as yet include 34-year-old Scottish midfielder Barry Bannan who captains the Owls, 30-year-old English striker Josh Windass, 25-year-old Canadian striker Ike Ugbo, 29-year-old English striker Cullam Paterson, 24-year-old Colombian winger Ian Poveda who plays on loan from Leeds and 19-year-old English goalkeeper James Beadle who plays on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, among others.
Most may have been more or less tempted to leave the Owls if they are relegated, but if they survive in tomorrow’s final relegation battle, Rohl would seriously anticipate them to not only decidedly help Sheffield Wednesday win more games next season than the ending season but get the Owls promoted to the Premier League upon the end of next season after 24 years of absence from the top tier of the English football system.
The other Thai-owned English football club Leicester City are jubilantly returning in automatic fashion to the Premier League after just one season in the second-tiered Championship.
Owned by Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the CEO of duty-free retail chain King Power Group, the Foxes are viewing next season as a very challenging comeback since they unprecedentedly clinched the English Premier League champion title in the miraculous 2015/2016 season.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Midfielder Barry Bannan who captains the Owls. Photo: Swfc.co.uk
First insert and Front Page: Dejpon Chansiri has been Sheffield Wednesday owner since January 2015. Top photo: Getty Images and published by BBC, Front Page photo: Rex Features and published by BBC
Second insert: Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl. Photo: Getty Images and published by BBC
Also read:Â Pressure on Sheffield Wednesday owner eased
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