Latest Derby County news from DerbyshireLive brings you news from one of the Rams’ rivals as they suffer a penalty from the Football League

Derby County’s Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday are unable to spend transfer fees for the next three windows as punishment for late payments of wages.

It comes after exceeding 30 days of late payments between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

The restriction on the Championship side will cover the entirety of this summer’s window and two full windows thereafter (Winter 2026 and Summer 2026).

The club will still be able to make free transfers, but are also unable to pay loan fees.

An EFL statement read: “The EFL can confirm that Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is now subject to a three-window fee restriction after exceeding 30 days of late payments between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

“In accordance with EFL Regulations, the restriction will cover the entirety of this summer’s window and two full windows thereafter (Winter 2026 and Summer 2026).

“The Club has notified the EFL of its intention to appeal this decision and this will be heard in due course.

“Separately, on June 3, 2025, the EFL issued charges against the club and owner Mr Dejphon Chansiri in respect of non-payment of Player wages in March 2025 and May 2025.

“This matter is being considered by an Independent Disciplinary Commission, and because of the ongoing proceedings, the League is unable to comment further at this time.”

Pressure is mounting on owner Dejphon Chansiri to sell the club with his relationship with the fans on extremely brittle ground.

There continues to be speculation over the future of manager Danny Rohl and the pair’s relationship was said to be on the rocks earlier this season. But Chansiri maintained there had been no fallout.

Latest Derby County news from DerbyshireLive as 2025/26 fixtures release handed new time after traditional 9am slot

Derby County staged a remarkable rear-guard action to ensure they retained their Championship status just a year after winning promotion from League One.

After a Boxing Day success over West Brom, the bottom fell out of Derby’s season – and they seemed destined for a rapid return to the third tier after a run of 12 games without a victory left them rock-bottom and seemingly without a prayer of survival.

Amid that run came the sacking of promotion boss Paul Warne and the arrival of John Eustace from play-off hopefuls Blackburn, and after an ignominious start and defeats to QPR, Millwall and Middlesbrough, it looked like the Rams old boy had made the biggest error of judgement of his brief managerial career. But then Blackburn came to Pride Park, the hosts won 2-1, and the Rams never looked back.

They would lose just one more game in a topsy-turvy season and draw with Stoke on the final day to ensure they were a Championship club again next season.

Eustace deserves all the credit for galvanising the squad he inherited from Warne, but now comes the even bigger task: taking the Rams to the next step.

So far, there are scant details about Derby’s pre-season plans, other than an already sold-out game against Matlock at the Proctor Cars Stadium on Saturday, July 12 (3pm kick-off).

The summer transfer window opens on Sunday, June 1, and there has already been talk of Derby interest in a couple of Eustace’s old boys at Blackburn, veteran defender Danny Baath and equally experienced attacker Andreas Weimann.

Their next significant date is Thursday, 26 June, when the EFL fixtures will be announced. However, there is a notable change this year. Traditionally, the fixtures for the upcoming season have been released at 9am, but this year it will be at midday.

Later that day, at 4:30pm, clubs and supporters will discover the first round draw for the Carabao Cup, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports News.

The first round of Championship matches are due to take place over the weekend of August 8 to 10, with Carabao Cup first-round ties following in the subsequent week.

The draw for the Vertu Trophy group stages will also be revealed on Sky Sports News from 2.30pm, coinciding with fixtures release day.

As per the EFL, the Championship’s scheduled 46 rounds of matches will unfold over 33 weekends, nine midweeks and four Bank Holidays.

2025/26 Championship teams: Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Derby County, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Norwich City, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Queen’s Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Swansea City, Watford, West Bromwich Albion, Wrexham.