Alex Miller: Don't be fooled by the calm, this summer with Sheffield Wednesday is going to be manic

This is the summer of mass-change, after all. The summer supporters have been waiting for, the summer the club rips it up and starts again.

But just wait. It’s going to be carnage.

A club of Wednesday’s size, with the interest they generate, will be linked with a whole host of new players in the coming months. So far, despite the announcement of several ‘retained and released lists’, the rustling of activity at the Owls rumour mill has been minimal.

There is still so much to sort out after all. The club are operating under the regulations of a transfer embargo, although as revealed by The Star this week, rules do mean they can sign a certain profile of player. It’s understood that that embargo will be lifted the moment they hand over their late accounts for the 2019/20 season.

There are other i’s to dot, not least Osaze Urhoghide’s future, which sadly seems more and more likely to take place elsewhere.

But in the main, the fact is that the 2020/21 season is not yet over. The runners and riders left in the promotion stakes are not yet finalised and the permutations of their business has not yet had its knock-on effects. The transfer window itself is not even open yet.

In previous seasons, the free agent and loan markets in which many clubs – including Wednesday – will be doing the majority of their business, has traditionally been slower than others. Though the Owls have no time to waste, freed-up players may well have several clubs after them, slowing things up a touch.

Darren Moore will no doubt want to assemble his squad in good time, however. The club confirmed their first friendly date, to take place in less than eight weeks time. The season proper starts just a month later.

But with 10 senior players heading for the exit door, it’s all the more important they get it right this time of all times and all indications are that the wheels of action are in full motion at the club; with Darren Moore working very closely with the Owls’ recruitment team since the season end.

Like a swan on the water, all appears calm above the surface, but the club are peddling like hell in an attempt to move forward.

What do they need? That’s up to them, of course, but the fact is that Wednesday will be hunting a whole different type of player. The big-ticket players, those on the sort of wages that have contributed to the mess they find themselves in, are not on the menu. The Owls will be looking to shop smart.

They like Doncaster’s Reece James, but that one looks very unlikely, and though the level of interest remains unknown, there have been reports of interest in six-foot-nine striker Kyle Hudlin from non-league Solihull Moors.

Expect to have to fire up Wikipedia time and again, because the unknowns will be hitting the rumour sites hard and with regularity.

Buckle up. In a few weeks this sense of calm will be a distant memory.

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