Are Sheffield Wednesday under a transfer embargo? What about the suspended points deduction? Your questions answered

Sheffield Wednesday’s January transfer activity hasn’t exactly got off to a thunderous start.
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The Owls, already a man down after the recall of Theo Corbeanu by Wolves, are working hard to bring in new faces and are focusing mainly on defensive reinforcements after a half a season of injury chaos at the back.

But what is possible for Darren Moore this month and where are the club at with that suspended points deduction reported last year?

Here are your questions answered...

So, are Wednesday under another transfer embargo?

In a word, no.

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This summer the EFL shifted their stance on acknowledging the identities of clubs working under the terms of a transfer embargo and Wednesday aren’t on that list.

Eight clubs are currently working under the terms of what the EFL are categorising as an embargo including League One clubs Fleetwood Town and Gillingham.

Sheffield Wednesday will remain tied by the terms of transfer restrictions throughout the January transfer window.Sheffield Wednesday will remain tied by the terms of transfer restrictions throughout the January transfer window.
Sheffield Wednesday will remain tied by the terms of transfer restrictions throughout the January transfer window.

These clubs are only allowed to loan players or bring in free agents to ensure they are able to complete a squad of 23 players of ‘professional standing’, and once at 24 names, can only bring players in on a ‘one-in, one-out’ basis ratified by the EFL.

Wednesday are not operating under such stringent terms, though they do have limits on what business can be done.

What business can they do, then?

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Loans and frees. It’s a sort-of-soft-embargo-but-technically-not, if you like.

Wednesday have been operating under their current terms since their official embargo was lifted back in June 2021. All of their 15 additions to the squad over the summer were either loans, free agents or free transfers from other clubs.

It means that the bulk of their business in the coming weeks is likely to centre on the loan market.

Links to more permanent moved for contracted senior players would most likely involve the player’s current club agreeing to sever a deal for no fee.

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This was the case when Stoke City allowed Lee Gregory to move to Hillsborough, for example, as well as the deals that brought George Byers in from Swansea City and Saido Berahino from Charleroi.

Why are they working under these terms? What happened?

It’s widely understood that Wednesday are operating under these terms as a sanction for their failure to pay players on time last season, and that these were terms broadly negotiated between the club and the EFL.

Further existing sanctions include the suspended points deduction that continues to hang over the club in the event of any further failure to pay player wages on time.

The terms of that suspended deduction decreed that the Owls would have had six points taken from them had they failed to pay wages in the first half of the season. Now the club are in January – and there is no indication there will be any further issues – the threatened deduction has fallen to three points.

How long will all this last for?

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Both the club’s transfer sanctions and the suspended points deduction, as we understand it, run until the end of the season.

This means that – assuming there are no further financial indiscretions – Wednesday will be allowed to make moves with transfer fees come the summer transfer window.

What is clear is that the situation will remain throughout January and that Darren Moore is limited to the free agent and loans market.