Sheffield Wednesday in discussions with the English Football League over lifting soft transfer embargo

The Championship club have yet to publish their accounts for the previous financial year, despite having already delayed the original deadline of February 27 by a further two months.

The delay has prompted the EFL to temporarily impose a soft transfer embargo on the Owls, preventing them from registering any new players.

But The Star understands Wednesday have been in regular dialogue with the EFL and are confident the ban will soon be lifted. It is believed the Owls are edging nearer to posting their accounts.

As soon as Wednesday have satisfied the EFL's requirements, they should get the green light to trade again.

Despite the transfer ban, plenty of work has taken place behind the scenes regarding the Owls' recruitment drive. Deals have already been agreed for free agents Moses Odubajo and Julian Börner while discussions are ongoing with former Cardiff City winger Kadeem Harris.

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This is the second year in a row the Owls have been placed under an embargo. They were banned from signing players from April to August last year after breaching the Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) rules.

Chairman Dejphon Chansiri warned earlier this year that Wednesday could face sanctions again if their financial issues could not be solved.

But Thai businessman Chansiri is believed to have completed a sale-and-lease back of Hillsborough to ease their P&S concerns. The finer details of the deal are expected to be revealed in the accounts.

The P&S guidelines, which were introduced at the start of the 2016-17 campaign, state clubs cannot post losses of £39m over a three-year period or they will face penalties from the EFL. Punishments range from transfer embargoes to points deductions. 

Reading are reportedly under a soft transfer embargo after breaching P&S rules due to overspending in the last three years.