How ‘ludicrous’ timing of World Cup could have major impact on Sheffield Wednesday transfer activity

That’s according to Owls boss Darren Moore, who admitted the club may have to adapt their plans as they seek to give themselves the squad boost required to make good on automatic promotion ambitions.

Moore has already made clear the club are in the market for a defender following long-term injury to Ben Heneghan, with the club also likely to look to strengthen elsewhere.

He described the decision to hold the World Cup in the winter months as ‘ludicrous’ due in part to the huge disruption it will cause to clubs at all levels.

The League One schedule will continue throughout the tournament while the Premier League and the Championship are paused. Wednesday are wary of clubs holding on to players – which could prompt them to look elsewhere.

“There will definitely be knock-on effects,” Moore told The Star. “Nobody knows what state the players will come back in after the World Cup – is tiredness and fatigue going to play a significant part in the transfer window in that clubs may hold on to certain youngsters just in case?

“They’ll need to cover themselves in case players come back with fatigue from that tournament, then there’s loss of form. There are so many aspects that clubs at that level will have to take into consideration.”

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Moore has spoken in previous windows about his preference to get deals done early and appreciates that may not be possible this time out in the case of certain targets.

He said: “If we’re targeting one or two players at that level, it may be that the door is firmly closed until the back end of the window before clubs are able to assess the group and allow young players to leave.

“For us, it means we’d go a full three or four weeks without them, which makes it difficult to plan and prepare. With certain targets, it may be that we have to switch tack and go elsewhere to make sure that it doesn’t disrupt our momentum and focus.

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“We’ll wait and see because it is something fresh and new that we’re all going to have to get on with.”