Henrik Pedersen is set to succeed Danny Rohl as boss of crisis club Sheffield Wednesday. The Dane, 47, was Rohl's assistant at Hillsborough as the highly-rated German staged a great escape to keep the club in the Championship before steering the Owls to a top-half finish last term.
But things have turned sour with under-fire owner Dejphon Chansiri failing to pay players and staff on time in successive months, leading to a transfer embargo and almost certain points deduction. Wednesday are also in trouble for defaulting on payments to the tax man and to other clubs regarding historic transfer fees.
Despite this, Pedersen is keen to stay in the Steel City after his contract expired at the end of last month having settled in the area with his young family.
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Wednesday announced late on Monday night that Pedersen had agreed a deal to stay with the club and would join the players on their pre-season training camp at St George's Park this week.
But it's understood that he will step up to become manager when Rohl, who is under contract until the summer of 2027, has finalised a severance package that will rubber-stamp his exit from Hillsborough.
Rohl has been linked with jobs at Southampton and Leicester as well as a clutch of positions in his native Germany, but is yet to secure a move elsewhere.
“When the opportunity presented itself and the chairman asked me to extend my current contract with the club, I didn’t hesitate," Pedersen said.
“It’s no secret that my family and I have fallen in love with this great club and also this wonderful city that has made us so welcome. The fans are what carries a club through tough games, good times and bad. And our supporters are the best.
“I’m excited to continue my role at the club and getting back to work supporting the team and working with the great group of players we have. To the fans, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.”
Thai tuna magnate Chansiri, meanwhile, has accepted he is in the end game as Owls owner and has agreed to work with a professional group who boast a proven track record of selling football clubs.
Chansiri has already rejected at least two bids from a Florida-based consortium of businessmen and professional sportspeople, including Sheffield-born Wednesday fan Adam Shaw who has made his money Stateside.
John Textor, who has recently left Crystal Palace, has also been credited with interest while there are additional glances from the Middle East.
But Wednesday are unable to sign any players on more than £7,000-a-week while ever their debts to players, the tax man and other clubs remain. They have also been banned from spending transfer or loan fees for the next three windows.
The future of talismanic captain Barry Bannan is also still uncertain having seen his contract expire at the end of last season, though he joined up with the rest of the squad to report for pre-season last week and is with his teammates at St George's Park.
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