It’s a precarious position for the club as the debacle over unpaid wages continues, with many players, coaches and non-footballing staff at the club still waiting for the money that was owed to them for the month of May.
As per the EFL’s correspondence, “During a transfer Window clubs can ‘staff up’, so they have 23 players of Professional Standing within their squad... Clubs are able to ‘staff up’ to ‘ensure the integrity of the competitions remain and so that Clubs are able to fulfil their fixtures’.
It’s also explained that they are only permitted to ‘staff up’ by signing players on loan or players not registered with another club, that they cannot pay fees to acquire loan players and cannot pay additional wages on top of the salary the player receives at their parent club. They can also only register players until the end of the current Season, whilst loan transfers can only be for half a season. Additionally, ‘budget restrictions apply dependent upon the divisional status of the Club under embargo’.
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The element regarding a 23-man squad disappears as soon as any embargo is lifted, so - in this case - as soon as the players are paid. But for now the Owls would only be able to sign two more players - and have offered new contracts to Barry Bannan, Callum Paterson and Akin Famewo. Essentially their hands are pretty much tied.
A player of ‘professional standing’ is described as ‘any player who has made one first team appearance (including as a sub) for any club in any first team competition’, although the EFL Trophy doesn’t count. With that in mind, these are the 21 players who fall into that category at Hillsborough:
1. Pierce Charles
Thankfully he signed a new long-term deal at Wednesday that sees him contracted for the next two seasons. The hope is that he'll be number one in 2025/26 | Getty Images
2. Gui Siqueira
He's a youngster who has shown potential, and doesn't have much senior game time. But Siqueira's three games in the FA Cup in 2024 mean that he's of 'professional standing'. | Steve Ellis
3. Di'Shon Bernard
Bernard signed a lengthy contract when he committed to the Owls a year ago, putting pen to paper on a deal that should see him remain at Hillsborough until 2027. | Getty Images Photo: Jess Hornby/Getty Images
4. Dominic Iorfa
The long-serving Owls defender is believed to have one more year left on his current deal at S6. He should hit 200 club appearances next season. Photo: Steve Ellis