Danny Röhl prepared for 'photo finish' with Sunderland in Sheffield Wednesday's Ike Ugbo transfer chase

Danny Röhl suggested Sheffield Wednesday’s pursuit of the signing of Ike Ugbo will go to the wire - and hopes his side are able to nip ahead of their rivals and secure an important deal. The Star revealed on Friday that Championship rivals Sunderland had entered the race for the Canada international, placing fresh pressure on Wednesday despite Ugbo’s preference to re-join Wednesday.

An outline fee is believed to have been agreed upon between the two parties, with payment terms set to be an important discussion in the next days. Ugbo is a key target for the Owls, who have had a whirlwind summer transfer window already and next weekend will play out a Championship opener with Plymouth Argyle at S6.

Speaking to BBC Sheffield when asked on the situation around Ugbo, Röhl said: “When you go into a race, you want to win that race, of course. We push our speed at the moment, but the other clubs push as well their speed. Now we come to the final 10 metres and hopefully we are a little bit in front, we have a photo finish and we win this race.”

Röhl was talking to the media following a goalless draw with La Liga outfit CD Leganes. Wednesday dominated much of the play going forward but were not able to break the deadlock.

“To score you need a number nine!,” he said smiling when asked how important it is that the club are able to sign a player of Ugbo’s profile. “We have some number nines who have improved, they have different profiles. I think we look back to the second half of the season and we took a lot of points because we scored more than in the first leg. To make the squad final, to make it really interesting, then some impact players would be helpful.

“What is important is that we are stronger than we were. I am confident in the squad, it is stronger because we found some of the pieces for the positioning, you see it. We have a belief, trust, ball possession and big, big confidence about how we play.”