Bates met up with current Owls chief Dave Allen in February to give advice on the financial management of the club although there were contrasting stories from both camps. Allen says that Bates showed an active interest in Wednesday although Bates said he was only meeting up in an advisory role and wasn't allowed to look at the books.
Bates took over Chelsea for the measly sum of only £1 in the seventies and sold the club to Roman Abramovich in the summer for around £17million.
Proposed Wednesday takeovers have been well documented recently, as well as the club's debt after boxing promoter Dennis Hobson staked his consortium's claim for The Owls.
Many fans though believe if Bates gets the chance to run the club, he would want to put it into administration, although Allen wanted a written three-year clause that wouldn't happen.
Hobson meanwhile has claimed that he knows many contacts in the sports world who could help Wednesday's current plight while Allen added fuel to the takeover rumours that he knows someone who has sold a business for over £100million and is not currently connected with a football club - that sort of money would do nicely!