Sheffield Wednesday look set to start life in League One next season with a 15-point deduction, because none of the bidders currently trying to buy the club are prepared to pay £15m to the outgoing owner, Dejphon Chansiri.
Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and American financier David Storch appear to be the front-runners to take over at Hillsborough, with a few other would-be buyers in the background.
But Sky Sports News has been told that none of the interested parties are prepared to hand over cash to Chansiri, by paying what is, in effect, half of the club's total purchase price to the Thai businessman.
James Bord, the preferred bidder for the club who withdrew his interest a fortnight ago, had said he was prepared to pay Chansiri, thereby avoiding the future points penalty.
However it is understood all the current offers on the table for Wednesday are significantly smaller than the £48m Bord had agreed to pay. Ashley's original bid was worth around £20m, and there is no indication that has been significantly increased in the meantime.
Under EFL rules, all 'football creditors' must be paid in full by anyone wishing to take over a club, and other creditors - like Chansiri - must be paid a quarter of what they are owed. If these EFL policies are breached, it triggers an automatic 15-point deduction.
Chansiri had loaned more than £60m to Wednesday in his 11 years in charge, and because this money was never converted into share capital, he is still the club's single biggest creditor.
That means Chansiri must be paid £15m of the £60m he is owed if Wednesday's new owners are to start next season without a points penalty.
None of the current bidders are prepared to pay that, with outstanding costs of around £8m to bring the stadium up to scratch, £6m to HMRC and other government debts and up to £3m in legal bills. All of that is on top of whatever is an agreed asking price.
The EFL stands ready to move quickly, once a new offer is provisionally accepted by Begbies Traynor, Wednesday's administrator.
Sky Sports News has learned all parties are hopeful that another preferred bidder could be appointed later this week, but as we have seen throughout this process, no timeframe is guaranteed.
