Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer mission continues - though they’ll have to continue to work with nous amid constraints.

Sheffield Wednesday fell to heavy defeat in a wildly adapted friendly run-out against Stoke City on Saturday - with boss Henrik Pedersen relaxed on the incomings required to bring depth to his squad.

The 140-minute run-out in Vienna was a match of two halves in every possible sense, with a first string Owls side giving as good as they got against the Championship Potters despite a 2-0 reversal on 70 minutes brought about in no small part by individual rustiness in the backline. New signings looked promising and partnerships looked to have developed in areas of the pitch, with big chances missed in what was a back-and-forth effort.

The ‘second half’, which saw both sides turn over their line-ups, saw a young Owls side mismatched against a stronger Stoke side, particularly after the pre-planned substitutions of senior men in new boy Billy Mitchell and training gaolkeeper Cameron Dawson. In a 70-minute finish that saw further errors made, the Owlets conceded four unanswered goals.

The exercise served as the finale to a week-long European training camp in which they underwent an intense midweek of double sessions at the Hungarian national headquarters on the outskirts of Budapest. Speaking to The Star in the moments after the defeat, Pedersen saw positives in the way Wednesday went about much of the first half but admitted the squad size remains on the smaller side as their vast squad rebuild continues.

Asked what he had learned about his team in the week-long camp, the Dane said: “I have learned that we have a strong, strong culture in our team and that we have 13, 14, 15 players and then we have a young group that has a lot to do before they can come onto the level of the other players. But we have a very, very strong culture and mentality in our group and such a togetherness.

“We now have a clarity for what we want, we can see we grow and they help each other so much to see the team we want to be. There is much bigger clarity for our aggressive pressing and when we go, we go as a swarm. We are winning more balls. The group has learned very quickly in the last three weeks.”

On Thursday Owls chairman David Storch released a statement to supporters confirming long-reported restrictions on what can be done in the transfer market, with The Star of the understanding that the club are approaching a limit on what can be spent on transfer and loan fees.

Sources suggest the club are confident they can work through deals in other ways. The Owls have the ability to pay higher wages than many League One clubs thanks in part to their ability to reinvest earnings from player sales - and options are available to include certain bonuses and kick-ons in efforts to secure targets.

The gulf between the first and second string sides in the Stoke clash furthered the long-known reality that more depth is required in the squad and Pedersen expressed no doubt that the club’s recruitment arm will be able to do so - and offered words of encouragement to the young players who are adapting to a higher standard in training following the addition of quality to the squad.

“I am confident with this,” he said. “We are working hard and we have a really good group (working on recruitment). We also have good young players. The level for them (vs Stoke) was just too high. We have increased everything in our group and now they are doing everything to try and follow that. They are doing a great job, the young guys. Today it was too difficult for them.

“I am sleeping well. I know we are working really good and we are working really hard to find the next players and I am sure we will do this.”

The Star is of the understanding that momentum behind a deal to bring Aston Villa youngster Tommi O’Reilly to the club on loan has slowed in recent days, though interest has arisen in his fellow Villa teammate Kane Taylor. A host of other players are of interest to the Owls, who are looking to strengthen a number of positions including in attack.

“Let’s just take it one by one and then we will see,” Pedersen replied when asked on how many players he feels are required before the window shuts on September 1. “Of course we are speaking with a lot of players. We are working hard not only to find players, but to find the right players with the right quality and also players to fit our culture for how we want to be and how we want to perform together.”