Sheffield Wednesday today announced a deal that brings a major US sports-based investment bank into proceedings to help secure financial investment.
Club Chairman Lee Strafford has described this as a major coup for the Owls and stated that if the football club cannot secure significant funding from this venture then any football club hoping to gain financial backing would have to be lucky.
It would be hard for even the least cynical of Owls fans to avoid saying they haven't seen and heard it all before given the disappointments and false dawns the club have encountered in the recent past but could this be different?
The Investment Bank that has come on board with the Owls, Inner Circle Sports LLC, certainly boasts a distinguished portfolio in relation to financial sports transactions.
Their services have enabled the completion of major deals for the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Sampdoria, Boston Celtics, Pittsburgh Penguins and most recently Sunderland.
Of course, as an investment bank, Inner Circle are not a charity and will be looking to make a profit out of this but surely the best means of doing this will be through securing the best possible deal for the club. With the proud record that they have in terms of the clients they have done business with the last thing they want to do is tarnish that reputation in any way and so this certainly appears to be a positive development.
The timing of this deal is likely to make it a major talking point when supporters get the opportunity to voice their opinions with Lee Strafford and Brian Laws at the fans forum on Wednesday evening.