Sheffield Wednesday delving into the transfer market – What they need, who’s available and what could happen…

There’s been an upturn in fortunes for Sheffield Wednesday of late, but there’s still no doubt that they need to delve into the transfer market this month.

The transfer window opened up last week as clubs around the country look to bolster their ranks for the months ahead, and the Owls – who are now out of the relegation zone – are no different.

Wednesday, however, are in a tough situation given the fact that they don’t currently have a manager to help select players who can take the team forward, though they do need to be proactive given their position down at the wrong end of the Championship table.

We took a look at what Wednesday need if they’re going to survive this season…

The positions

Before his departure, Pulis said many times that it was pretty clear where the Owls needed to strengthen – and he wasn’t wrong.

SWFC have really battled in front of goal, and while Callum Paterson and Josh Windass have chipped in with a few goals, the Owls are drastically lacking a regular goalscorer to lead the line.

A striker has been a top priority for Wednesday for some time now given their lack of goals, and whoever comes in as Pulis’ replacement will no doubt still be on the hunt for a new number nine – especially if Jack Marriott doesn’t return from Derby County.

But aside from a forward, the Owls could probably also do with a bit more depth in defensive midfield given the injury to Massimo Luongo – even if it’s somebody on a loan basis for now – while a left back is probably also quite high up on their list of priorities.

Those would be the three main positions, but there’s probably also room for another wide player to shoulder some of the burden for a high energy position, and if they could get a couple of forwards in rather than just one then that’d be even better.

What Chansiri said…

Regarding some of Pulis’ targets, like Sam Hutchinson, the chairman suggested that Wednesday haven’t closed the door on them, saying “Some we already talked, some we already send offers - but obviously nobody was going to answer until the window opens…

“We’re dealing with the players anyway, even now I’ve sacked him. We’re still working for that, because we still need to strengthen our players because some loan players need to go back, and we need to bring new ones.”

Who’s available?

It very much depends on what sort of budget Wednesday are working with, to be honest, and that’s something that Chansiri didn’t really elaborate on too much… He spoke of how even free transfers can be expensive because of the wages involved, but he has told The Star previously that there will be money to spend if needed.

Regardless, the Owls have shown of late that they’re working towards a more sustainable business model, suggesting that – even with money to spend – they won’t be out splashing millions on transfer fees.

There’s an extremely long list of experienced Championship players who will be out of contract in July and could be available on a cut-price deal this month, and – depending on wages – there could also be a number of players in the Premier League that could be available in similar situations.

Hutchinson is one name that has been linked with a return to Hillsborough following the decision to terminate his contract with Pafos FC in Cyprus, and Chansiri’s suggestion that he’s still a possibility would mean that the defensive midfield role would have backup. He’s also played in central defence in his career, too.

Some left backs who are out of contract in the Championship are Joe Bennett, Yuri Ribeiro and Omar Richards, while the Achraf Lazaar is in a similar position in the Premier League and there are a couple of left-field free agents available such as Victor Alvarez and Konstantin Rausch.

Up top, in the most important area of Wednesday’s potential window business, there are a number of free agents available such as Oumar Niasse and Richmond Boakye, though they may be better suited looking at proven strikers in the Premier League who could do a job on a short-term basis.

The alternative is to find a player similar to what Blackburn Rovers have done with Harvey Elliott, and head into the top-flight with the promise of regular Championship game time for the array of young talent that is itching for a chance to prove themselves.

It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at somebody like Everton’s Ellis Simms or Dan N'Lundulu to see if they can potentially take their U23s form into senior football – though a proven striker would of course be first prize for the Owls.

What next?

The fact of the matter is, Wednesday need to sort out a new manager as first priority before they started delving too heavily into the transfer market.

Yes, if someone becomes available and makes it onto the radar of Chansiri and his recruitment team, then they’ll be worth assessing, but the last thing they want to do is fork out a pretty penny for somebody that may end up surplus to requirements under whichever man does replace Pulis.

It’s very much a case of ‘watch this space’ at Hillsborough, and there’s also probably some work to be done in terms of outgoings as well, something that could affect who becomes priority and how the club approach matters going forward.

More Owls news

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Liam Shaw’s Wednesday contract latest – Lifelong Owl doesn’t want dream to end

Wednesday to cash-in on Jordan Rhodes? – Reports link Owls forward with QPR

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