Sheffield Wednesday close to signing ex-Chelsea youngster who needs Cardiff City loan rip-up

Owls boss Danny Röhl has spoken about his desire to strengthen his attacking options, with the club working on clearing space in their squad with two players already having left the club. Goalkeeper James Beadle has arrived on loan.

The Star understands that Wednesday are hopeful of getting their hands on a new forward in former Chelsea man Ike Ugbo, who is currently on loan with Cardiff City but has not played in any of their last four matches after sustaining a hamstring injury. He is back fit and was named on the bench in their win at QPR on Saturday and The Star understands progress has been made on a possible loan deal, with the Owls hopeful of coming to an arrangement that would see him swap South Wales for South Yorkshire.

The 25-year-old Canada international was named in their squad for the Qatar World Cup having represented England at youth level. He spent his formative years at the Stamford Bridge club and completion of a deal with Wednesday would be the eighth loan stint of his career. He swapped Chelsea for Belgian side Genk in 2021 and has since signed for French side Troyes, who are his parent club.

Capable of playing wide of a central striker as well as leading the line, Ugbo has scored four goals and claimed one assist in his 20 matches for Cardiff this season, including the opener in Wednesday's 2-1 defeat in South Wales back in August. Among his loan moves in the past have been stints at Barnsley, Scunthopre United and Cercle Burgge. He made five appearances in the Europa League during his time with Genk.