Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday weigh-up attacking midfielder signing amid rival interest
Sheffield Wednesday are in the calm before the storm of a busy summer transfer window.
Sheffield Wednesday are working behind the scenes to line-up their approach to the summer, with a flurry of transfer additions required as the club look to push on into a new era under its new ownership.
The Owls squad was torn apart by financial issues that necessitated major player sales in the last two transfer windows and plans are afoot to remodel the make up of the changing room ready for its new dawn in League One. It’s a major rebuild mission that will be informed by recruitment restrictions the club believe will not prove too inhibiting in their ambitions to build a competitive outfit.
One of the names Wednesday are considering, The Star understands, is exiting Stockport County attacking midfielder Odin Bailey, who will become a free agent after the Hatters chose to release him - to the surprise of onlookers. Things are at an early stage in terms of the Owls pushing on into the transfer window, which doesn’t open until June 15, though some exploratory talks are understood to have been undertaken with a number of available players.
Wednesday’s incoming sporting director Simon Wilson will arrive from Stockport in due course, while Bailey has worked with Owls first assistant Pete Shuttleworth previously at Birmingham City. That said, social media suggestion that a deal is lined-up is understood to be wide of the mark, with considerations being made in-house over where things go from here. The Star understands Bailey is the subject of interest from other League One clubs, Championship clubs and clubs in Scotland.
Bailey, 26, plays mainly as a central attacking midfielder and has six goals and five assists in his 73 appearances at League One level. Having come through the ranks at Birmingham, he spent time at loan at Forest Green Rovers and later in the Scottish Premier League with Livingstone. Two bit-part campaigns at Salford City followed before his association with Stockport, where he became an important figure particularly last season, where he registered two assists in a play-off campaign that ultimately ended in final defeat.
These are the early days of Wednesday’s rebuild and further considerations will be had as things move forward towards the opening of the transfer window. Contract talks with existing players are expected to accelerate in the next days and weeks.