Ike Ugbo situation explained with tests required before Sheffield Wednesday opportunity
Ike Ugbo’s time as a permanent playing member at Sheffield Wednesday has been a desperate trudge.
One of Sheffield Wednesday’s striking options must be subject to more fitness testing before he is welcomed back into first team training with the club, boss Henrik Pedersen has suggested.
The Owls are on the hunt for attacking reinforcements in the remainder of the transfer window and though there is plenty of time until the end of the window they will need to act with savvy, with The Star of the understanding they are close to the limit of what can be spent in this window through full transfer fees and loan fees.
They do have a striker on the books of course in the form of misfiring Canada international Ike Ugbo. Wednesday went about their European training camp and pre-season friendly in Vienna without the 27-year-old, who was left at home to continue his individual training programme. As revealed by The Star some weeks ago, Ugbo is operating mainly out of the club’s secondary Bawtry Road training base.
Asked for a progress update on Ugbo, who has failed to hit the net in 55 league appearances since he made his highly successful loan period more permanent in August 2024, Pedersen said simply: “He is training and I expect to see him again when we come back.”
Pressed on whether there are plans in place for Ugbo to feature in first team training - or whether he will simply continue at Bawtry Road, Pedersen said: “We will be doing some testing on him again and we evaluate this and make a plan for him.”
It’s understood that both Ugbo and Wednesday share the understanding that a fresh start in this transfer window would be best for both parties, though the former Chelsea forward is widely believed to be one of the club’s top earners and getting him off the books may not be easy. He did come close to joining Bolton Wanderers in January before the Trotters pressed on with another forward option.
The forward is understood to be under contract at Hillsborough until the summer of 2028 and Wednesday have money outstanding on the structuring of his deal from French club Troyes, with around £2m still to be paid on a £2.5m total fee as per an administration report earlier this year.