Why Sheff Wed's squad could get weaker this month

Much of the talk this week at Sheffield Wednesday has been about potential player sales.

Several clubs are monitoring striker Bailey Cadamarteri and the Sheffield Star reported on Tuesday that Chelsea are close to signing impressive youngster Yisa Alao.

Captain Barry Bannan could leave the club in this window too. There was more than a hint of an emotional farewell when the veteran midfielder exited the pitch against Birmingham.

Fans have started to question what this means. Is it connected to the status of takeover attempts by a consortium led by James Bord?

My understanding of the situation is as follows:

It's very unlikely the EFL's owners and directors' tests will be concluded before the end of January. Nothing is imminent there.

As such, irrespective of any confidence the administrators might have in the deal being concluded, they still have to manage accordingly.

Even if their confidence was very high in everything passing smoothly, they cannot risk the alternative scenario — the test being failed and there being a sudden cashflow shortfall, with the prospective new owners no longer required to fund the losses of the club.

The only available window to prepare for that eventuality is January. Once the transfer deadline passes, there's no opportunity to raise funds through player sales.

It's far from an ideal situation but one the people tasked with keeping the club running have to contend with.

What happens to the money from player sales? My understanding is it funds cash flow, if and when necessary. Then, it would become part of something called 'administration realisations' that effectively go to creditors.

On top of this, the preferred bidder will have negotiated a clause in the agreement that means they would expect the purchase price of Sheffield Wednesday to reduce when player assets are sold.

This means for every amount raised, for example £1m on a player sale, the new owners would have to pay £1m less to buy the club.

Any add-ons attached to a transfer go towards the club after administration, not the administration estate.

Some supporters have questioned why alternative means of fundraising aren't being pursued instead - such as a ticket-sale and merchandise drive, as was the case when the club originally went into administration back in October.

In the past few weeks the club had a stall at the city's Christmas Market. Merchandise stock was reduced in price over January. Half-season tickets have been sold, along with four-match packages.

There have been other offers too for members, a £15 price cap for the Brentford FA Cup game and further offers for upcoming matches such as Millwall's visit to Hillsborough.

Player sales still need to be considered, with uncertainty over the future of the club remaining. In just over 10 days that stops being a possibility for Sheffield Wednesday when the window shuts.

It's not ideal but nothing is when a club enters administration.

It appears to be a classic case of covering all bases - hoping for the best but planning for the worst.