Xisco Munoz’s Sheffield Wednesday squad comment suggests busy transfer window

Munoz finds an Owls side that has just 17 players aged 23 or over, with several young players playing their part in first team training over the last week given the lack of numbers at Middlewood Road.

On Saturday the club will face York City in the Spaniard’s first game in charge, and it will certainly be interesting to see what sort of side he names at the LNER Community Stadium.

The 42-year-old has grander plans than just the here and now, though, and he’s suggested that he’s trying to put the club in a position to be successful going forward as well.

"We are looking at the short-term, medium-term and long-term,” he told The Star. “All Championship clubs need these three things, most importantly the first two, and if you have the capacity then the third one. We need to assess the squad and after that, we will see.”

With that in mind, Munoz was asked about the upcoming transfer window, and his plans for it, but while he wouldn’t mention specifics he did say that he wants a squad of at least 22 or 23 players to choose from over the course of the 2023/24 campaign.

"I don’t want to say a number exactly,” he explained. “Because it may end up being less or more, but in the Championship you need 22 or 23 players.

“You have 46 games and more with the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, so you need a lot of players, and you need to have a balance with them because you can have injuries. So you need to have a good team. The numbers are important and the balance.

“We have a very good group, but I think we can give something different, and we can start to work hard… The first thing I said to the guys was congrats because I know you are the best players in League One. In difficult moments you need to stay together and show reactions, it shows the capacity of them as people.”

Munoz and his Wednesday side face York at 1.30pm on Saturday.