Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is looking forward to a new successful era at Sheffield Wednesday as Milan Mandaric completed an £8million deal to take control of the League One outfit. The deal has yet to be rubber-stamped by shareholders at an emergency general meeting on December 14, but the club has confirmed it has already received "irrevocable undertakings from 43.6% of the company's shareholders to vote in favour of the deal".

Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam, said: "Today's announcement is absolutely fantastic news for Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, its supporters and the city of Sheffield as a whole.

"This would not have been possible without the huge efforts of all the staff at the club, but particularly by Howard Wilkinson and Nick Parker who toiled tirelessly to make this happen.

"The Co-Operative Bank, the former directors of the club, the supporters, and of course, Milan Mandaric, also deserve a large amount of credit for getting us to the situation where Sheffield Wednesday can continue their promotion charge this season completely debt free."

Wednesday were granted an extra four weeks to settle an outstanding £600,000 tax bill in the High Court a week last Friday and faced certain administration had they been unable to find a major new investor.

Mr Clegg added: "The extension the club managed to secure in court last week has both ensured its survival and ensured that the club's tax bill is paid in full.

"We can now concentrate on the most important thing - hoping Sheffield's two great football clubs can both get back into the Premier League."